Malaysia’s Khiew Hoe Yean continued his competitive comeback at the World Aquatics Championships – Singapore 2025 with a solid performance in the men’s 200m freestyle, clocking 1:48.10 — his best time of the season. The swim earned him 31st overall in a stacked international field.

While the National Record (1:47.36) remained out of reach this time, the 22-year-old Malaysian swimmer walked away encouraged by his consistent improvements over the past few months. “All my races are 1:48 and hopefully I can get down to my PB back (1:47.81),” said Khiew. “So I’m really looking forward to SEA Games. Hopefully can break the National Record.”

After a string of performances across various meets, Khiew noted his progress since the World University Games. “I race five times for 200m… throughout it is getting better and better,” he said. “I’m really happy I did a consistent race.”

 

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Despite the positive trend, Khiew remained self-critical, pointing to specific areas he’s targeting for refinement. “I think just now maybe the front end is a bit slower… definitely I can improve from the turns,” he said. “Let’s work towards the turns and then let’s get better.”

Now settling into his rhythm in Singapore after early jetlag, Khiew is feeling sharper with every lap. “Today I feel better than yesterday,” he said, with an eye on the longer 800m freestyle next. “It’s actually like a training… time really doesn’t matter, just the effort is there.”

Khiew will continue his campaign with that 800m race tomorrow, treating it as a key preparation step in the build-up to his end-of-year goals, including a possible shot at rewriting the Malaysian record books.