By MARK REY MONTEJO
Swimmer Xiandi Chua splashed her way to a two-gold haul for Team Philippines in the recently concluded 20th Singapore National Swimming Championships.
The 23-year-old Chua topped the women’s 200m butterfly where she touched the wall at 2 minutes and 17.48 seconds – just a hairline faster than her compatriot and fellow Palarong Pambansa alumni Jasmine Mojdeh (2:17.79).
Chua bagged the golden honor, while Mojdeh and crowd favorite Janice Yo (2:18.11) settled for silver and bronze medals, respectively.
Prior to her triumphant performance in 200m butterfly, Chua reigned in the women’s 200m backstroke.
There, the erstwhile De La Salle standout timed in 2:14.93, besting Thai Mia Millar (2:15.52) and Singaporean Faith Khoo (2:18.23).
However, Chua lost her momentum in the 200m freestyle where she ended up as third placer after clocking 2 minutes and 3.96 seconds.
She finished behind eventual gold and silver winners in Ching Hwee Gan (2:00.60), who was named as tournament’s Most Valuable Female Swimmer, and Jung Wen Quah (2:02.66).
In all, the Nationals took home two golds, one silver, and one bronze from the meet.
