SINGAPORE — After a difficult past couple of years, national swimmer Quah Ting Wen is optimistic she is seeing light at the end of the tunnel.

The 20-year-old yesterday won the women’s 50m butterfly in 27.54 sec, the first event of the Singapore National Swimming Championships (SNSC) at the Singapore Sports School. She met the event’s “B” qualifying time of 27.77 sec for next month’s World Championships in Barcelona, while Marina Chan and Mylene Ong were joint second in 27.96 sec.

United States-based Quah, who has one more year before she completes her four-year communications course at the University of Southern California, believes her performance is a good sign. “To do a personal best in an event I don’t normally race in was unexpected,” she said.

“Although I don’t expect to eventually get selected for this event for the World Championship, as Tao Li has posted a better time, it is a good start for me here, particularly after the past year or so, when I broke my arm, which affected my form. I missed the 2011 SEA Games and several other meets and it had a domino effect, as I also missed the London Olympics.”

The SNSC is the only local qualifier for the SEA Games and the last opportunity to make the cut for the World Championships (July 19-Aug 4).

Quah is also racing in the 50m, 100m and 200m freestyle, the 100m and 200m fly and the 50m backstroke this week.

Having won five golds at the 2009 SEA Games, Quah wants another shot at the Dec 11-22 Games in Myanmar. But as the format of the SNSC could change depending on the haze — if the PSI rises to hazardous levels, the results of the heats could be used as the final times — she is focusing on what she can control. “Since I got back, training had been affected, with sessions shortened, postponed or cancelled,” she said. “We all have to deal with it and prepare as best as we can.”

Also meeting the “B” qualifying times for next month’s World Championships were Samantha Yeo in the women’s 50m breaststroke and Tao Li in the women’s 50m backstroke.

Samantha, 16, won her race in 33.01 sec, ahead of Phee Jing En (34.27) and Cheryl Lim (34.37), to go under the “B” benchmark of 33.12 sec, while Tao, 23, won her race in 29.13 sec, ahead of Lynette Ng (30.48) and Malaysia’s Caroline Chan (30.69), to meet the “B” timing of 29.85 sec. TAN YO-HINN