Kuala lumpur: National swimmer Khiew Hoe Yean is keeping the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games this September as his main target but determined to deliver strong performances at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games this month. Hoe Yean said the Commonwealth Games remains an important assignment for him and the national swimming squad although the Asian Games is currently the bigger priority in their long-term plan.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 24-year-old SEA Games gold medallist expressed that the Commonwealth Games is a significant meet, yet the full focus remains on the Asian Games. "For us, I think we are more targeting the Asian Games. Commonwealth Games is an important meet as well, but I think the full target would be the Asian Games. Going into this, we still want to be fast at the Commonwealth Games, but we are still going to prioritise the Asian Games over the Commonwealth Games," he stated during the national training session at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil.

Despite the emphasis on the Asian Games, Hoe Yean intends to approach the Glasgow meet aiming for competitive times and possibly setting personal bests. He highlighted that he and his teammates, including Lim Yin Chuen, Arvin Shaun Singh Chahal, and Tan Khai Xin, will compete in both their main events and several off-events to enhance their preparation and assessment. "We are not only swimming our best events, we are swimming some off-events as well. So, hopefully we can get something there as well," added Hoe Yean, who is set to compete in the men's 800 metres (m) freestyle, 1,500m freestyle, 4x100m freestyle relay, and 4x200m freestyle relay.

The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games is scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 2, featuring 10 sports, including athletics, swimming, track cycling, lawn bowls, boxing, judo, and weightlifting, as well as six integrated para sports.