KUALA LUMPUR: National swimmer Tan Rouxin once again proved that she is one of the brightest talents in the sport in Malaysia with a strong showing at the Shanghai leg of the World Cup series which concluded yesterday (Oct 20).
The Johorean became the first Malaysian woman to win a medal in the World Cup series when she claimed bronze in the women's 400 metre individual medley on Saturday.
It was also Malaysia's first World Cup medal in 35 years. The last Malaysian to win a World Cup medal was Jeffrey Ong who won silver in the men's 1,500m freestyle in England in 1989.
Yesterday, she came close to qualifying for the final in the 200m individual medley after placing ninth in the preliminaries, missing the top-eight cut by just over a tenth of a second.
The World Cup is a short course series which utilises 25m pools.
Rouxin, who broke the 200m individual medley short course national record in July, said it is always an honour to represent her country.
"It (winning bronze) was really unexpected for me," said Rouxin yesterday.
"I did my very best in every event, my goal was to lower my personal bests.
"It is definitely an honour to represent Malaysia at the World Cup and to win the bronze."
The 18-year-old made her Olympic debut in Paris (August) after she was selected to represent the country in the women's competition by Malaysia Aquatics.
She first made headlines in 2022 when she won six gold medals for Johor at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
Rouxin is among a new generation of Malaysian swimming talents that also includes the likes of Dhuha Zulfikry who at 16, has already shown immense promise.
Dhuha erased Jeffrey's 35-year-old short course national record for the 1,500m event in Shanghai.
Malaysia Aquatics has placed more emphasis on short course training and competitions this year in a bid to boost national swimmers' power and speed while also strengthening them on their turns and transitions.
Sports Minister Hannah Yeoh congratulated both Rouxin and Dhuha for their achievements in Shanghai on her social media accounts today.