ALEX Fong Lik-sun set the only record at the recent Division One age group swim meeting in the Kowloon Park pool, but national coach Chan Yiu-hoi is unperturbed by the moderate overall results.
Fong, 15, won the 200 metres backstroke in 2:14.87, beating his own national junior record set in August at the Asia-Pacific Championships in Sri Lanka by 0.25 of a second.
However, that was not Fong's best time for the event, as he had recorded an unsanctioned 2:14.18 at the local Chinese Amateur Swimming Association meeting a week ago. Said coach Chan: 'The times were very moderate, and I wasn't even impressed by Alex's time in the 200 back because it was still more than half a second behind his personal best.
'But I wasn't disappointed at all. The overall results were satisfactory considering that many of the senior swimmers are coming back from a long lay-off and this is not their competitive season.' Chan pointed out that another reason for the sub-standard times was the recent cancellation of full-time national squad training, and the Hong Kong internationals now only train together on weekends.
However, Chan stressed that the senior swimmers have maintained a tough training programme under the guidance of their own club coaches.
'They are training at their own clubs and it's doing them good because they need a change of schedule and environment,' said the Hong Kong Sports Institute's head swimming coach.