<p class="title">The plucky swimmers of far-flung nations who train in the sea where stingrays and crocodiles lurk are ready to strike a blow for the sport's minnows at the Asian Games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As Olympic champions such as China's Sun Yang and Japan's Kosuke Hagino soak up the limelight, simply getting to Jakarta has been a remarkable achievement for the fresh-faced hopefuls from the Maldives and East Timor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Better known for its sun-kissed blue lagoons, the Maldives is no island paradise for its competitive swimmers, who regularly suffer jellyfish stings in the murky waters off the capital Male.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We see jellyfish and stingrays mostly and sometimes eels so I get pretty scared," 14-year-old Hulva Khulail told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I've been stung so many times," added the pint-sized schoolgirl, who takes the plunge in the 50, 100 and 200 metres breaststroke in Jakarta.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It itches so much you have to stop and pour vinegar on it. And also the sea is very polluted."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Such is the parlous state of swimming in the Maldives there is no proper pool available.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Khulail and team-mate Haish Hassan instead use the Indian Ocean, sharing a 25-metre area marked out by floating blocks with fish and other creatures -- often at night.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's hard for us to swim in a pool because the water is very dense," explained science buff Hassan, also 14, who will tackle the backstroke and breaststroke, plus the 400m freestyle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The seawater is easier to swim in, but sometimes practice gets cancelled because of the water pollution. We've all complained about it."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Another swimmer poised to become one of the unsung heroes of the Games is East Timor's Imelda Felycita Ximenes Belo, who only learned to swim five years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 19-year-old trailblazer will be the first Timorese swimmer to compete at the regional event, which officially opens on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Belo, whose role model is American Olympic star Katie Ledecky, risks life and limb as she trains in an ocean infested with saltwater crocodiles.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many beaches in East Timor are unswimmable and communities live in fear of crocodile attacks -- but it does not stop Belo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There's crocodiles in the sea and they can be really dangerous," shrugged freestyler Belo, whose other Asian Games goal is to take a selfie with her crush, Singapore hunk Joseph Schooling.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I can't go out too deep because you can't see. My parents worry that I might get eaten but I just pray to God to protect me from the crocs."</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Nepal's swimmers, it's not so much sea monsters they fear but the prospect of turning into couch potatoes -- for seven months of the year it is too cold to use the country's only 50m pool.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We can only train for five months and you can also have political strikes too so you lose more days," said Sirish Gurung, who will swim the 50 and 100m freestyle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"In the winter there's nothing to do, I just eat burgers and fries. It's a miracle that we're here!"</p>
<p class="title">The plucky swimmers of far-flung nations who train in the sea where stingrays and crocodiles lurk are ready to strike a blow for the sport's minnows at the Asian Games.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As Olympic champions such as China's Sun Yang and Japan's Kosuke Hagino soak up the limelight, simply getting to Jakarta has been a remarkable achievement for the fresh-faced hopefuls from the Maldives and East Timor.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Better known for its sun-kissed blue lagoons, the Maldives is no island paradise for its competitive swimmers, who regularly suffer jellyfish stings in the murky waters off the capital Male.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We see jellyfish and stingrays mostly and sometimes eels so I get pretty scared," 14-year-old Hulva Khulail told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I've been stung so many times," added the pint-sized schoolgirl, who takes the plunge in the 50, 100 and 200 metres breaststroke in Jakarta.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It itches so much you have to stop and pour vinegar on it. And also the sea is very polluted."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Such is the parlous state of swimming in the Maldives there is no proper pool available.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Khulail and team-mate Haish Hassan instead use the Indian Ocean, sharing a 25-metre area marked out by floating blocks with fish and other creatures -- often at night.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"It's hard for us to swim in a pool because the water is very dense," explained science buff Hassan, also 14, who will tackle the backstroke and breaststroke, plus the 400m freestyle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The seawater is easier to swim in, but sometimes practice gets cancelled because of the water pollution. We've all complained about it."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Another swimmer poised to become one of the unsung heroes of the Games is East Timor's Imelda Felycita Ximenes Belo, who only learned to swim five years ago.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The 19-year-old trailblazer will be the first Timorese swimmer to compete at the regional event, which officially opens on Saturday.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But Belo, whose role model is American Olympic star Katie Ledecky, risks life and limb as she trains in an ocean infested with saltwater crocodiles.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many beaches in East Timor are unswimmable and communities live in fear of crocodile attacks -- but it does not stop Belo.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"There's crocodiles in the sea and they can be really dangerous," shrugged freestyler Belo, whose other Asian Games goal is to take a selfie with her crush, Singapore hunk Joseph Schooling.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"I can't go out too deep because you can't see. My parents worry that I might get eaten but I just pray to God to protect me from the crocs."</p>.<p class="bodytext">For Nepal's swimmers, it's not so much sea monsters they fear but the prospect of turning into couch potatoes -- for seven months of the year it is too cold to use the country's only 50m pool.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"We can only train for five months and you can also have political strikes too so you lose more days," said Sirish Gurung, who will swim the 50 and 100m freestyle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"In the winter there's nothing to do, I just eat burgers and fries. It's a miracle that we're here!"</p>