WITH the Asian Championships on the horizon, masters swimmer Cindy Ong received an early boost after being unveiled as the new World No 1 in her pet event by Fina.
Cindy is now the top-ranked swimmer in the women’s 35-39 age group for the 100m butterfly (long course) discipline.
The 36-year-old is also ranked No 2 in the 50m butterfly and fourth in both the 50m and 100m freestyle long course events.
The butterfly specialist, who won five gold and two silver at the Gwangju World Masters Championships in August, was pleased to see her hard work pay off.
The mother of three hopes more sportsmen and women such as herself will receive the support and recognition they deserve.
“I am proud as this is the culmination of hard work and sacrifice.
“There were times when people doubted me, but my support team believed in me 110 per cent from the start.
“I have seen so many cases of Malaysian sportsmen and women excelling to the top of their field yet few are given the recognition and support — either financially or in other aspects — to facilitate their talents.
“I believe there are many (other) promising talents who could put Malaysia proudly on the map. Their talents could well be unleashed with better support.”
Cindy, who won seven gold at the Nagoya Asian Masters Championships in 2018, is eying a repeat performance at this year’s edition in Da Nang, Vietnam on Aug 23-28.
“I’m aiming for gold medals but expecting competition from the Thais as they have several current national swimmers on their masters’ team. Japan are always a force to be reckoned with,” added Cindy.
The Perak-born swimmer has already started the year on a positive note competition-wise by winning seven gold and one silver at the Tokyo New Year’s Masters last month.