Singapore's mixed relay quartet set national record at Vietnam Open
Singapore's 4x100m mixed relay team set a new national record of 43.21sec en route to winning a gold medal at the Vietnam Open on Friday (July 19).
The quartet comprising Kugapriya Chandran, Shanti Pereira, Tan Zong Yang and Khairyll Amri eclipsed the previous record of 43.40s with their feat at Ho Chi Minh City's Thong Nhat Stadium, after the 4x100m men's and women's teams won a silver and a gold medal respectively on Thursday.
The previous record was set by Kugapriya, Pereira, Tan and Timothee Yap at the Singapore Open four months ago.
Khairyll, who was initially a reserve, came in after Yap picked up a hamstring strain and Joshua Chua experienced hamstring soreness, following their earlier exertions.
Said the 25-year-old sport science and management student at Nanyang Technological University: "Honestly, I didnt expect to break the record because the previous record was really quick.
"The coaches decided to change the sequence. Initially is girl, guy, guy then girl. But coaches swopped it to girl, girl, guy, guy. So it was really surprising and we were happy about it.
“It's a confidence booster for me and the team as well leading up to the SEA Games. It's showing us that we're headed in the right direction.”
Khairyll added that they could have gone faster if Yap was not injured.
He said: "Tim has a hamstring strain. I'm positive that if he was running, the team could have gone faster. He was on form leading up to the World University Games but got a hamstring pull midway through his 200m.”
On Thursday, the women's 4x100m relay quartet of Pereira, Clara Goh, Haanee Hamkah and Grace Shani won gold in 46.57s, ahead of two Vietnamese teams who clocked 47.77 and 48.58 respectively.
The men's 4x100m relay team comprising Chua, Khairyll, Dexter Lin and Tan won a silver medal with their 41.58s effort, which is sandwiched between the gold-winning South Koreans (40.71) and a Vietnamese team that finished third (41.82).
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now
