Para-swimmer Yip focused on only good timings
Pin Xiu does not have gold on her mind as she counts down to the Paralympic Games
She is a favourite for gold at the Paralympic Games in Rio in September after setting two world records last week.
But ask Yip Pin Xiu what her target is and she will only say she wants to do her best.
The Singapore swim star returned home yesterday after her feats at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming European Open Championships in Funchal, Portugal, last week. Speaking to The New Paper at Changi Airport Terminal 1, she said: "It'll be nice, but I'm not putting that kind of pressure on myself to say I must win a gold medal. It's just about getting a good timing.
"If I do a good timing and get a medal, it's a bonus. If I don't, I've tried my best and... that's all that counts."
Yip won Singapore's first and only Paralympic gold medal in the 50m backstroke (S3) at the 2008 Beijing Games.
The 24-year-old won the 100m backstroke (S2) gold in 2min 09.79sec, smashing the previous world mark of 2:16.31.
In the 50m backstroke (S2) final, she clocked 1:00.64 for a second gold, eclipsing the previous world mark of 1:01.39.
Yip also set two Asian records in Portugal.
In the 50m freestyle (S2) final, her time of 1:03.82 was faster than the previous Asian mark of 1:05.47, set by China's Feng Yazhu in Sochi, Russia, last year.
She finished fifth in the 100m freestyle (S3) final, but her time of 2:15.68 broke Feng's mark of 2:17.15, also set last year.
Looking back at her powerful performances, Yip said: "The performance met our expectations (Yip and coach Mick Massey) so we're happy that we're on track but, at the same time, there's still more to work on.
"We want to improve so hopefully, with four months of training left, we are able to do it.
GOOD PROGRESS
"This is good progress, considering we started the entire programme only last year in February... It took a while for us to adapt to it, but it's good that we're seeing better timings."
Yip will be competing in the 50m and 100m backstroke (S2) events in Rio.
Fellow national para-swimmer Theresa Goh, 28, also set a new Asian record in Portugal.
She clocked 1:59.90 in the 100m breaststroke (SB4) final to clinch the bronze medal, breaking her previous Asian record of 2:00.86 set at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.
Goh will be competing in the 100m breaststroke (SB4), and 50m, 100m and 200m (all S5) freestyle in Rio.
Former British Disability Swimming coach Mick Massey, who coaches both swimmers, is "over the moon" with their performance.
"I'm very pleased with their progress. The girls have done a lot of hard work in this cycle and, fortunately, the end product has been very productive," he said.
"There's still a lot of work to do, though. When they get back to training, it's just going to be about fine-tuning and maintaining what we're doing.
"Consistency is key."
On his hopes for the swimmers in September, Massey said: "All we can do is do the best we can. We can't control what other people do.
"What we're trying to do is obviously put the girls on the podium. What we get on the podium will depend on what other people do.
"So long as the girls keep moving on, we should be good."
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