PARTNERS AND BEST BUDDIES

Hua Wei-Zylane miss gold in duet technical routine event

AJITPAL SINGH ajitpalsingh@nst.com.my

GAN Hua Wei broke down when she and Zylane Lee failed to win Malaysia’s second gold medal in the Sea Games synchronised swimming at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

The 18-year-old and Zylane treat each other like sisters and the former had wanted to win the gold medal as a pair with the latter in the duet technical routine event.

Hua Wei won the solo technical event on Thursday, while Zylane took second in the sole free discipline.

Cheered on by fans and their families, the Malaysian pair twisted and turned to the song ‘Strength of a Thousand Men’, produced by Two Steps From Hell, but they could only garner a 74.3659 total for the silver medal, losing the title by only 0.8132 points.

Debbie Soh-Miya Yong won Singapore’s second gold medal by posting 75.1791 points, while Indonesia’s Anisa Feritrianti-Claudia Megawati Suyanto finished third on 68.9504.

Malaysia’s Chai Jia Yue-Wong Mei Teng took fourth position with a 68.9187 total.

Hua Wei-Zylane’s failure also signified the first time Malaysia had failed to win the duet technical event, after successes in the 2011 Indonesia and 2015 Singapore editions.

“I really wanted us to win the gold. We did our best but this is a subjective sport and judges decide the points. Anyway, it is our best score this season.

“We may have lost to Singapore today, but we will fight on in the duet free and team events tomorrow.

“We always support each other, and I was determined to see us