 |
XXI
SEA Games Return
to Asian Sailing Calendar |
 |
|
|
Race
Report No. 04 by
AsianYachting Wind? Glorious wind! on the penultimate day The light 6 knot breeze at the start of race 7 today quickly built up to a gusty 10 - 12 knots which lasted the whole afternoon. The low pressure systems presently in the North China Sea (above Malaysia) which pull the air in from the southern latitudes below them have produced a steady 8 to 10 knot SE - SW flow across the Kra Peninsula. Most of the competitors where seen up and planning on the reaching legs and boats carrying spinnakers made a spectacular sight on the Malacca Straits today. Some of the point scores have tightened up and will produce an exciting final day of racing tomorrow whilst others have had run away wins in their class and fear being penalised if they exercise their option to race as the gold medal is already theirs. Click on Up to date Race Results to browse In the men's 470 Tan Wearn Haw and Chung Pei Ming from Singapore have held onto a slender 1 point lead over Balladares Ridgely / Chavez Rommel from the Philippines and Malaysia's Shahrull/Sahir who shared the honours today. After race 8 the low point scoring system allows competitors to discard their worst 2 places during the series which has benefited some or extended the lead of others. Kelly Yin and Hasikin from Malaysia have a comfortable 4 point lead in the women's 470 class and still have a bit of work to do to beat Thailand's Wandee Vongtim / Rasana Sompong and Singapore's Wong Maye-E / Naomi Tan Ming Ai who are having a close battle for the silver medal. The 420 boys have provided the most interest with the closest result going into the last day. Although Jeremy Koo / Looi Sing Yew from Malaysia lead by one point the winner could well be Singapore's Roy Tay Junhao / Ou Dahui or Myanmar's sailing brothers Phone Kyaw Moe Myint / Sithu Moe Myint who are tied on points. Anything could happen here as all three have shared the top places through out the series. . The 420 girls have a similar situation with Malaysia's Nurul Ain/Nor Balquis and Myanmar's Su Myat Soe / Nan Kham Say tied for first place with 9 points and Singapore's Toh Liying / Joanne Lock Mei Lian being only 4 points adrift have applied allot of pressure on the leaders and are looking forward to the exciting times ahead. The lasers and board sailors have put in some exceptional performances to record run away wins in their class and put them in the enviable position to rap up the 10 race series after completing race 8 today. Myanmar's Aung Myin Thu / Kaung Myat Htut have recorded 6 wins on their laser II to comfortably lead Singapore by 7 points. Malaysia's Kevin Lim the best placed Asian laser sailor at the Sydney Olympics has continued to out shine Thailand's Veerasit Puangnak with 7 wins out of the 8 races held in variable conditions so far. The biggest win of the regatta must go to Malaysia's Tiffany Koo sailing her laser radial with 8 wins in a row and for producing the neatest score sheet. She leads Singapore's Chrislin Lee Tan-Lin and Thailand's Lekha Ugkhalamahapanich to fight over the silver and bronze medals. Arun Homraruen from Thailand is leading the Mistral light weight men's class with 7 wins put a blotch on his almost immaculate score sheet by taking 2nd in race 7 to be runner up to Tiffany in the biggest win stakes. Thailand's Napalai Tansai with six wins on her Mistral board has also racked up an insurmountable lead over her Indonesian and Singaporean competitors who are tied on points for second place. Indonesia's Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana and Thailand's Phanuthat Ruamsap are tied on 8 points for the Mistral heavy weight men's gold medal. After exchanging first places during the series Oka retired from race 7 suffering migrane headaches. Only to come back out and take first place in race 8 to retain a share of the overall lead. The remaining 2 races will be worth watching. The boys Optimist class sees Malaysia's Abdul Rahim with 4 wins take a commanding lead over Thailand's Paradorn Chuasa-Nga and Singapore's Teo Wee Chin to put himself within reach of the gold medal. It is a different story in the girls division with Singapore's Sarah Tan Wei Lin having a 1 point lead over Malaysia's Sandra Lili Yin and surprise performers at this regatta Myanmar running a close 3rd. Judging from past regatta's the old saying
"It's not over till the fat lady sings" can easily be applied to
this situation. The last day of any regatta is where anything can happen
and usually does produce some upsets and surprises. Hopefully the wind
continues to blow and produce some fair sailing conditions for tomorrows
final showdown. |
|
Race Report No. 03 by AsianYachting 12 Sept 2001 A day of consolidation and reckoning. Sailors completing today's race 5 & 6 have reached the half way point of the XXI SEA Games sailing competition. Their performance so far and the result sheets (Click on Results) is the source of concern for team managers and speculation is rife on how many gold medals each national team hope to be awarded at this Sunday's prize giving ceremony. Malaysia's win in the Optimist teams competition and the record haul of medals (55) won already at these games has stirred fellow athletes along and given them the confidence (Which so often seems to be missing) to go on and finish the job. The fresh 10 to 12 knot SW breeze saw the Thai sailors even up the scoreboard and improve their overall standing with Damrongsak and Wandee Vongtim leading the way by taking 2 wins apiece in their respective 470 classes. Singapore's Tan Wearn Haw still leads the 470 men but has seen his lead diminish as the Philippine and Malay teams have shared the honours and kept the final result wide open. Malaysia's Kelly Yin who leads the 470 women endured a similar fate. Malaysia's Jeremy Koo (despite having a disqualification) and Nurul Ain carry a slender points lead in the 420 men and women's classes into the next round of races and have the Myanmar and Singapore sailors hot in pursuit. In the Laser classes Tiffany Koo (women's radial) has kept the neatest score sheet with 6 wins in a row with Malaysian team-mate Kevin Lim (men's laser) and Myanmar's Aung Myin Thu (Laser II) recording 5 wins apiece have taken a commanding lead over their foreign counterparts in these classes and have all but struck gold. Indonesia's Gusti Made Oka Sulaksana made the most of the fresh midday breezes to make it 2 wins for the day and draw level on points with Thailand's Phanuthat Ruamsap who had previously been leading in the heavy weight men's Mistral class. A ding dong battle to the end is expected here. A different tune plays for Arun Homraruen (LWM) and Napalai Tansai (women) from Thailand who have dominated their class with 6 and 5 wins respectively to be well on the way to taking the gold medals home with them. After the gruelling Optimist team racing the best representative sailors have now settled into the relatively mundane individual event. Traditional rivalry between Singaporean and Malaysian Optimist sailors have been renewed with Abdul Rahim who led the Malaysian team to the gold medal yesterday showing his light weather speed to record 3 wins in a row and take a firm grip on the medal. Singapore's Sarah Tan Wei Lin has shared the honours with Malaysia's Sandra Lili Yin in the girls class to hold a slender 1 point lead and this close duel is expected to continue over the final 4 races. Tomorrows layday gives the competitors time
to asses their performance and take what ever corrective measures
(including consulting with sports psychologists) deemed necessary to improve
their standings and carry them successfully through till the
end. Medal
Presentation Photo's |
|
Race
Report No. 02 by AsianYachting Malaysia wins the first GOLD Medal in sailing
While the Optimists where getting all the media attention on the inshore course the other competitors where busily consolidating there positions and building onto the points they received yesterday. Balladares Ridgely skippered the Philippine men's 470 to record 2 wins and close in on Singapore's Tan Wearn Haw. Malaysia's 470 women skipper Kelly Yin also took two wins to take the lead by a slender 2 points. Malaysia's Jeremy Koo was the big mover today in the 420's with 2 wins to even up the points with Myanmar's Moe Myint brothers who lost a first place overnight as the protest committee reinstated the Singapore team after they where initially deemed premature starters. Malaysia's Nurul Ain scored 2 wins in the women's 420 and is having a interesting 3 way battle with th Myanmar and Singapore sailors. Myanmar's Aung Myin Thu scored 2 wins on their Laser II and despite starting early in the first race maintains a slender lead over Malaysia and Singapore. Kevin Lim added another win in the men's Laser and Tiffany Koo sailing a Laser radial recorded 2 wins and have kept Malaysia's medal hopes alive at the top of their respective classes. The Thai wind surfers are starting to dominate the Mistral classes. Phanuthat
Ruamsap added 2 firsts in the men's heavy weight and Arun Homraruen has
a clean sheet with four bullets in a row in the men's light weight class.
Napalai Tansai also scored two wins today in the women's division and
is building up a commanding lead at this early stage of the regatta. |
|
No wind delays the first GOLD Medal in sailing
The other classes race on two separately laid courses further offshore also got off to a brisk start and had completed the 2 scheduled races with lunch of the 10 race series where back on the beach in 3 1/2 hours. An interesting exercise on the press boat is helping the journalists identify the 5 or 6 boats moving in evenly matched groups or classes at five minute intervals on different parts of the course. Lightning fast tacks on the wind shifts and covering tacks seemed to be the coaches orders for the day because if you miss one of them you slow down just enough to let someone past.
Malaysia's Kevin Lim and Tiffany Koo sailing Laser's made it 2 firsts apiece which firmly marks their intention to help Malaysia, who are already on the way with 30 gold's in 3 days to hopefully win a record haul of medals at these XXI SEA Games. In the Mistral wind surfers Thailand showed their dominance in the men's light weight class with Arun Homrruen's 2 wins and Napalai Tansai and Phanuthat Ruamsap shared the honours with Singapore's Rachel Ng in the women's and Indonesia's Oka in the men's heavy weight division.
|
|
Well, after months of preparation and training the site and participants are ready for some fierce on the water competition during the XXI SEA Games - Sailing events at Admiral Marina, Port Dickson. As Kuala Lumpur and the rest of the South East Asian nations sports men and women prepare for battle on specially constructed track and fields around Malaysia the sailors down in Port Dickson are rejoicing for being included as a sport in the games this time around and enjoying the splendid new dinghy sailing facilities that have finally come together and are being provided by the organizing authorities down at the Malacca Straits coastal resort city. It is a first in many ways. As the biggest International sailing event held in Olympic classes that the Malaysian Yachting Association has ever hosted and the first time some of these sailors have the opportunity to measure up and pit their skills against each other in home waters. Many have done well at European and World class championships held recently including representing their country at the Sydney Olympics. So its a mixture of talent and experience verses the up and coming locally trained champions who take great delight and national pride in beating each other. It is also a win for the Australian Yachting Federation's training scheme as most of the foreign coaches employed by the local national authorities over the past 6 months are from Australia including Mike Fletcher helping Singapore who probably wrote the original training syllabus. Although only six of the 10 SEA nations are capable of fielding a representative sailing team, 13 gold medals in all are up for grabs competing in 7 different off the beach classes. The size of the regatta with about 100 sailors may be small by International standards or akin to a week long championship held each year at any large sailing club in the developed world. But in growing Asia the size of a regatta fleet is not always considered important the overall success will be measured by the quality of sportsmanship and skills the participants display during the competition. Expect to see some great racing when Sydney Olympians Kevin Lim
from Malaysia and Thailand's Veerasit Puangnak meet again in the men's
Laser class. Singapore's Roy Tay Junhao and crew sailing a 420 recently
took the Silver medal at the World Youth titles and Malaysian optimist
sailor Abdul Rahim who eventually finished third at the World championships
in China are out to prove their victories in light conditions where no
fluke. The Indonesian's have sent almost a full contingent of racers despite
their ailing economy and are always a threat during any regatta along
with the Philippine sailors as these islanders posses a natural ability
to find and harness natures forces as Oka the world famous Balinese wind
surfer has shown on many occasions. |
|
As winter approaches Europe sailing takes a well earned break with the southern hemisphere summer yachting events taking over and the increasingly popular Asian Regatta Circuit 2001/02 moving into the media limelight. (See the Asian Yachting Circuit program of events). Kicking off in 4 days time (as the TV countdown keeps reminding me) is the South East Asian (SEA) Games where Malaysia plays host nation to 30 plus sporting competitions fiercely contested by the 10 SE Asian nations mainly at the Commonwealth Games village in Kuala Lumpur. Sailing is included this time in Olympic class dinghy's and wind surfers at Port Dickson (the closest beach resort town to KL). This will be the biggest sailing event the Malaysian Yachting Association and the National Sports Council have ever organized. The site has its own viewable venue, competitors village and will be having its own Opening, Presentation of Medals and Closing Ceremonies. AsianYachting will be there to bring you the news almost as soon as it happens via e-mailed race reports and post up to date race results and daily news of the SEA Games sailing events on the AY website. Cheers! |
|
It sounds so idyllic - three weeks by the sea at Port Dickson. But for the 34 sailors and officials camping out there, it's not guitar strumming by day and beach barbecues by night. It is hard work and hopefully will reap a gleaming reward. CHAN TSE CHUEEN files this report after spending 24 hours with the Singaporian sailors THURSDAY, 3PM 3.30PM 4.30PM 7PM 8PM 9PM FRIDAY, 8AM 10AM 12.30PM 2PM Medal
Presentation Photo's |
The
good news today is that the Malaysian Optimist sailors have bagged the
first sailing gold medal of these XXI SEA Games by beating Singapore
in a very close 3 race final that was postponed from yesterday due to
the lack of wind. The bad news was again the wind and the 1100 start
was posponed for 3 hours before a steady 5 knot SW breeze filled in
across the racing area. The race committee's decision to hold the postponed
final today as well as the 2 scheduled races for today saw the Optimists
still out there at dusk. A long day indeed and worth the wait
as the local catch cry of Malaysia Boleh! could
be heard across the water on numerous occasions. 
At
the 1100 hrs start to the serious sailing competition between 6 of
the 10 SE Asian nations a fresh 8 to 10 knot SWesterly breeze greeted
the sailors. The Optimist class quickly got into the round robins of the
Teams event with 4 of the best under 16 national sailors selected
to represent their country scheduled for today. After a series of races
where points are awarded to the teams overall placings and kind of like
a knockout competition the 2 teams with the lowest points will have a
sail off for the final rounds. Then a gold medal will be presented to
the winning team on this first day of competition. Sounds good and it
had the media down in force, some even on their toes.
The
early results had traditional foes Singapore and Malaysia sharing the
top places in the 470's and Laser II with U Moe Miyint's family racing
team from Myanmar providing a surprise with 2 firsts in the 420 boys and
a share of the lead in the 420 girls.
Even
as the Malaysian Optimist team outsailed the Myanmar team in the last
of the round robins the breeze had faded to 5 knots and some glassy patches
began to appear on the surface. A quick confirmation of the points put
Singapore and Malaysia into a 3 race final. The first start resembled
kids driving dodgem cars at a entertainment centre mixed with the
jury and race committee boats who try to arbitrate and police the
ISAF team racing rules being used for fair sailing.