SINGAPORE — After winning bronzes in the over 1,000m and 500m lightweight single sculls at the South-east Asian Games in June, national rower Saiyidah Aisyah has now switched to a new event in her bid to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

The 27-year-old, who is based in Sydney under the tutelage of personal coach Alan Bennett of Rowing Australia, is now training in the 2,000m openweight single sculls.

Aisyah made the switch last month and will be using this week’s Asian Rowing Championships in Beijing to give her an idea of where she stands among her competitors in the region before next April’s Asian & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta in South Korea, which is the sole qualifying event for the Olympics.

The 2013 SEA Games 2,000m lightweight single sculls champion — who is in Beijing with Singapore national rowing head coach John Holland — said that the Asian Championships will be the first time she will compete in the open weight category in four years.

However, she feels she has become mentally stronger in recent months. “I just want to do my best (here),” she told TODAY. “In racing, there are three things that make you a (good) rower: Your physical attributes, technique on water and mental strength. I realised that I was lacking in self-confidence then. I had to find out the hard way the importance of believing in yourself.

“This Asian Championships is not a qualifier. The qualification is in April 2016, and in that one race, I have to be in the top seven in the women’s singles scull. To qualify is already a feat, so we’ll work towards achieving that first.”

Aisyah suffered a setback before the start of the championships, which begin today, when one of her oars was found broken after it arrived in Beijing. However, Holland has since brought over a new pair of oars for her from Singapore.

Bennett said that while rowing in the open weight category is very different from the lightweight events that Aisyah used to compete in, it will give an indication of where she stands in the region.

“We will have a much clearer view of the task ahead after this weekend’s results,” he said.

“She will return to Sydney after the event to continue training with her club-mates at Mosman Rowing Club and we will work on the weaknesses that will be highlighted from this event.”

Bennett said that Aisyah is a “very focused athlete”, and that preparations have been “solid” as she is working towards getting up to speed in the open weight event.

Singapore Rowing Association (SRA) president Nicholas Ee said that the national body will try its best to source for funding to support Aisyah’s training requirements.

“Because she did not meet the KPIs (key performance indicators) at the 2014 Asian Games (where she finished fourth) and this year’s SEA Games, so understandably, it is harder to source for funding for her,” he said.

“But whenever we have enough funding, we will try our best to support her.” ADELENE WONG