Selangor: Young Selangor swimmer Eliza Tan Ai Shen capped her debut at the Selangor 2026 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) in style by winning seven gold medals, boosting her prospects of earning a place in the national swimming squad.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 19-year-old completed her gold-medal haul after winning the women's 50-metre (m) freestyle in 26.44 seconds at the Selangor Aquatic Centre. Perak's Nadia Lim took silver in 26.56s, while Federal Territories swimmer Leo Wei Wen claimed bronze in 26.89s. This victory helped Selangor strengthen its position at the top of the swimming medal tally with 20 gold, seven silver, and 11 bronze medals, totaling 38 medals.
Eliza said her SUKMA debut was a highly meaningful experience, having set personal bests (PBs) in all three individual events she contested. 'I'm definitely really happy with how I performed this SUKMA. I got a PB (personal best) in all three of my individual events and, hopefully...I've talked with the coach...I can make it to the Malaysian team soon,' she told reporters after the competition.
Regarding her plans, Eliza mentioned she would continue training hard after returning to the United States to pursue her university studies, with the hope of earning a place in the national squad. 'That would just be amazing. I'm going back to the United States to university, so I'll keep training and working hard. I'm really excited and hopeful that I can be part of the national team for the first time,' she said.
Eliza admitted that winning seven gold medals was beyond her expectations, saying she was particularly surprised after securing her first gold at the Games. 'I was very shocked after winning my first gold, and I just wanted to keep it going. I'm really happy that I did,' she expressed.
Earlier, Eliza won gold in the women's 4x100m freestyle in 3:54.54 seconds, setting a new SUKMA record, and the women's 4x200m freestyle in 8:36.12s, also breaking the Games record. She also helped Selangor win gold in the mixed 4x100m medley in 4:00.35s and the women's 4x100m medley in 4:18.87s. In the individual events, Eliza clocked 2:05.26s to win the women's 200m freestyle, while her 56.78s effort in the women's 100m freestyle saw her set a new national record.