"I come with the coach, so I can add the training segment while competing in the games," Azzahra noted at the Daru Ehsan Aquatic Center in Selangor, Malaysia, on Tuesday.
Azzahra is one of the Indonesian athletes, who had been trained for the Asian Games 2018 to be held in Jakarta and Palembang from August 18 to September 2.
Under the supervision of her coach David Armandoni, the 16-year-old swimmer had begun her training since early in the morning in a bid to compete in the ASG as well as to maintain her training schedule for the Asian Games.
Azzahra, who belongs to Pekanbaru, Riau Islands Province, is currently the best long distance swimming athlete from Indonesia competing for the Asian Games. She was scheduled to compete in the individual 400-meter medley and 200-meter butterfly style.
"However, it is probably added (to some more games)," she stated.
Azzahra is a qualified and well-acclaimed athlete for the 400-meter medley, who broke the record, with a time of 4 minutes, 51.77 seconds, in the ASG 2018, surpassing earlier records of Vietnamese Ahn Vien Nguyen Thi, at 4 minutes, 53.68 seconds.
"I am happy to break the ASG`s record. However, that is not my best time yet, which is 4 minutes, 50 seconds," the young athlete, who joined the national team in 2016, stated.
Apart from winning a gold medal in the 400-meter medley, Azzahra won a gold medal in the 100-meter butterfly event, with a time of 1 minute, 2.56 seconds, and a silver medal in the 200-meter medley.
Her chances of winning more gold medals in the ASG 2018 are relatively high, as there are still four events that she will compete in: 200-meter medley, 200-meter breaststroke, 200-meter butterfly, and 400-meter medley relay.
"I hope I can do the best, and I also use this event to gauge the performance of athletes from other nations, such as from Thailand, as who knows, we will meet in the Asian Games," Azzahra noted.
(T.A060/A/KR-BSR/O001) 24-07-2018 13:49:21
Reporter: Antara
Editor: Fardah Assegaf
Copyright © ANTARA 2018
