Friday, July 10, 2009
Asia Youth Games 2009
Joscelin Yeo Wei Ling
She is Singapore’s most decorated athlete. From the tender age of 9, Joscelin Yeo has personified the highs and lows of being a competitive athlete. After demonstrating she had the right stuff in Singapore, Joscelin made her debut at the South East Asian Games when she was only 12 years old. She won two silvers and three bronze medals at the South East Asian Games in Manila in 1991.
With a triumphant return to Manila for the 2005 Games, Joscelin scooped up another six gold medals, for a grand total of 40 gold medals at the SEA Games. She continues to win medals across the board, even as most athletes specialize in fewer events. In Manila 2005, she set a new record for the 100-metre butterfly at the Games by becoming the first woman to swim the course in under a minute.
In 2006 Joscelin was given a Special Award by the National Olympic Council in recognition of her unparalleled contribution and longevity to the sport of swimming in Singapore. Joscelin is the only Singaporean athlete to have competed in four Olympic Games, beginning in 1992 in Barcelona. Before leaving to train and study in the United States, she had been named Singapore Sportswoman of the Year three times. Joscelin also has experienced the difficulties that go hand-in-hand with being a competitive, long-term athlete. However, she is a living example of the old adage that where there’s a will, there’s a way.
Joscelin trained in the United States from 1998, first at the University of California (Berkeley) and then at the University of Texas (Austin). In 2003, Joscelin became the first female University of Texas athlete to be awarded a Rhodes Scholarship. Over a thousand U.S. and international candidates applied for the 95 scholarships available. Jill Sterkel, co-head of the University’s swimming program, said: “Joscelin is the whole package.”
Asia Youth Games Closing Ceremony: Golden girl Quah Ting Wen clinches Most Valuable Player Award
Quah Ting Wen receives the MVP award (Female)
from Mr Timothy Fok, Vice President of the
Olympic Council of Asia.
Raffles Ballroom, Swissotel the Stamford, Tuesday, July 7, 2009 – The two most outstanding athletes of the inaugural Asian Youth Games were unveiled at the closing ceremony today. The Most Valuable Player (MVP) Female Award went to Singapore’s Quah Ting Wen, while the Republic of Korea’s Chang Gyucheol took home the MVP Male Award. Both swimmers went home with four gold medals, with Ting Wen adding a bronze to her glittering haul.
Asia Youth Games Sailing: Darren Choy clinches gold medal while Najwa Jumali is assured of silver in Byte CII
Darren Choy and Najwa celebrating their double win.
National Sailing Centre, Sunday, July 5, 2009 – The gloomy skies that overlooked the waters off East Coast were certainly not an obstacle for Darren Choy and Najwa Jumali as they scooped up the top spot in their respective groups of the Byte CII category on Day 5 of the Asian Youth Games Sailing competition.
With a final race to go, Darren Choy is assured of a gold medal, while in the Byte CII girls, although Najwa did her utmost to overhaul regatta leader Thanawitwilat Jittiwa in the overall standings with a strong performance today, she can do no better than finish in second place. She is assured of the silver medal, because the Thai holds an unassailable 3-point lead over her.
In the Bio Techno (Windsurfing) category, Singapore’s Audrey Yong needs a good performance in the last race as Hong Kong’s Man Ka Kei has been pushing her to the limits.
For Chuah Jun Ler, despite the fact that he is out of medal contention, he still has to finish strongly in Singapore’s bid to grab the Nation’s Trophy.
Here’s the story for today’s races:
Byte CII –Girls & Boys (Race 10)
Day 5 of sailing commenced with the Byte CII class as the girls headed out to sea first. Singapore’s Najwa had a superb performance yesterday and she carried over her fine form into today’s race. She had a huge 10-boat length lead early in the race, but a change of wind conditions caused her to slow down tremendously and this allowed the rest of the fleet to make up ground on her.
Malaysia’s Mohd Afendy Khairunneeta, who wanted to erase yesterday’s nightmare of a H1N1 scare which caused her to launch her boat after the rest of the fleet had already did, started strongly and followed closely on Najwa’s trail, but China’s Gu Min and Thailand’s Thanawitwilat soon caught up with her, and she dropped to fourth position. It was a tough fight between Gu Min and Thanawitwilat, while ahead of them, Najwa managed to break away and took a 7-boat length lead.
With Gu Min finishing just ahead of Thanawitwilat, Najwa was able to close in on the latter in the overall standings, but it was not enough for the Singaporean as Thanawitwilat’s consistent showing throughout her campaign assured her of the gold. Malaysia’s Mohd Afendy has a chance at claiming Malaysia’s solitary medal at this Games as she currently trails China’s Gu Min by three points for the bronze.
For the boys’ Byte CII, Singapore’s Darren did not disappoint as he managed to finish strongly towards the end of the race. He capitalised on Pongwichean Supakon’s mistake of capsizing in the middle of the course to take the top spot.
Prior to the race, he would need to only finish in fifth position to be assured of the gold medal but he showed genuine sportsmanship and sailed to victory. His next-closest competitor, Thailand’s Pongwichean, could only manage to finish third after a close battle with Malaysia’s Md Jais Muhamad Amirul Shafiq.
Nonetheless, Pongwichean is guaranteed of a silver medal for Thailand while the third position will be up for grabs as Malaysia’s Md Jais Muhamad and Indonesia’s Aprinanda Hasbula Simamora are separated by a slim six-point margin.
Bic Techno – Girls & Boys (Races 9 & 10)
Audrey Yong placed herself in good stead to extend Singapore’s medal tally although she had a bittersweet day at sea. She placed 3rd and 4th in the two races, but after a protest hearing, her 3rd-placing in Race 9 was changed to a disqualification. She is now currently third in the overall standings, with the closest competitor being Hong Kong’s Man Ka Kei who is 1 point behind. Both of them are left to battle hard for the final medal up for grabs as Thailand’s Kaewduang Ngam Siripon and China’s Hao Xiumei have already sealed the top two spots respectively.
Though Singapore’s Chuah Jun Ler is out of medal contention, he produced his best showing of the regatta when he pipped Korea’s Kim Chaneui for 3rd position in Race 9. However, he finished last in the next race and to add to his woes, he dropped his sail just before he reached the finishing line. Japan’s Kuramochi Daiya seized the opportunity to overtake him at the end.
China’s Wei Bipeng, who has already exceeded all expectations to land the gold medal, again collected two more bullets as he stood firmly at the top of the standings. If he finishes first again in the final race, he will hold the first 100 per cent win record throughout the regatta.
Results
Byte CII (boys)
1) Darren Choy (Singapore) – 10.00
2) Supakon Pongwichean (Thailand) – 17.00
3) MD Jais Muhamad Amirul Shafiq (Malaysia) – 32.00
Byte CII (girls)
1) Thanawitwilat Jittiwa (Thailand) – 17.00
2) Najwa Jumali (Singapore) – 20.00
3) Gu Min (China) – 25.00
Bic Techno 293 (boys)
1) Wei Bipeng (China) – 9.00
2) Vantana Nakaret (Thailand) – 25.00
3) Kim Chaneui (Korea) – 29.00
Bic Techno 293 (girls)
1) Kaewduang Ngam Siripon (Thailand) – 10.00
2) Hao Xiumei (China) – 20.00
3) Audrey Yong (Singapore) – 26.00
Singapore’s Golden Girl
Ting Wen has become Singapore’s most bemedalled athlete at the inaugural Asian Youth Games.
The 16-year-old swimmer bagged two more golds on Monday for a grand total of four.
Singapore’s golden girl had earlier won the 200-metre and 50-metre freestyle events.
On Monday evening, Quah proved her prowess by winning the 100-metre freestyle in 55.57 seconds.
Amanda Lim made it a one-two for Singapore by taking the silver in 56.24 seconds, while South Korea’s Kim Junghye was third at 56.39 seconds.
Quah then added another gold to her tally, by helping Singapore’s 4×100-metre freestyle relay team to victory in 3 minutes and 46.91 seconds.
The winning time by the quartet of Quah, Hui Yu, Amanda Lim and Lynette Lim was also a new national record.
South Korea clocked 3 minutes 50.56 seconds to win the silver, while China finished in 3 minutes 51.34 seconds to settle for the bronze.
Asian Youth Games: Swimmer Quah Ting Wen clinches 4th gold for Singapore
SINGAPORE: Singapore won its fourth gold at the Asian Youth Games on Friday. Swimmer Quah Ting Wen, 16, clinched the gold for Singapore when she came out tops in the Girls' 200-metre freestyle.
Quah Ting Wen wins Singapore’s fourth
gold medal in the 200m freestyle.
Gold again for Ting Wen
Ting Wen edges Amanda in 50m free on a day Koreans bag five golds
Despite losing the 50m freestyle gold to
Quah Ting Wen, silver medallist Amanda Lim
(facing camera) was happy for her good friend.
IT IS the enduring downside to any friendly rivalry and on Sunday, it was Amanda Lim who had to play second fiddle. The latest chapter of what is growing into Singapore swimming's most keenly-fought duel was won by Quah Ting Wen. She pipped her compatriot to the 50m freestyle gold medal by a quarter of a second.
The 16-year-old bagged her second Asian Youth Games gold with a 25.43sec effort, adding to the one she picked up for the 200m free on Friday in a national record-breaking time.
Yet, it was Singapore Sports School student Amanda, competing in the very pool she has trained in nearly every day for the past four years, who started as the pre-race favourite.
She had bettered Ting Wen's national and Under-17 record of 25.65sec in Saturday's semi-final. Her 25.38 topped the qualifying timesheets, while Ting Wen was second-fastest (25.54).
But on Sunday, the Raffles Institution (Junior College) first-year student's quicker reaction time - 0.64sec to Amanda's 0.67 - gave her the early edge.
The pressure of the big stage revealed who could cope - Amanda's strokes in the first 15m were hurried, while her teammate's smooth movement showed her composure.
Ting Wen began to pull away with 20m to go, but, in the end, was just unable to go under Amanda's record.
'For sprints, it's really anyone's race,' said the 1.74m-tall Ting Wen, who credited Amanda for helping to calm her nerves in the waiting room.
'To be able to talk to each other before the race really helped. We talked about school, the upcoming World Championships, actually about anything except the race.' Amanda chipped in: 'This is the only AYG event we could get a 1-2 in, and we're really happy to achieve it.'
The pair have known each other since the age of 10, competing in inter-school and national age-group meets. But while the 1.69m-tall Amanda has focused on the sprints for several years, it was only last year that her teammate made the switch from the distance events.
Shahrir Mohd. Anuar
SINGAPORE : Shahrir Mohd Anuar shot off the starting block less than two-hundredths of a second after the starter's pistol went, fractionally faster than Japan's Masaki Nashimoto.
But that was the only time the 16-year-old was in front of the Japanese in the Asian Youth Games boys' 100m Final on Friday.
Just as he promised, Masaki burned rubber as he roared down the Bishan Stadium straight, hitting the tape ahead of the rest of the field to bag the gold medal in 10.82sec.
Thailand's Kittisak Phiraksa clocked 11.11s to pip Shahrir for the silver, with the Singaporean posting a time of 11.13s. The Hunabashi City High School student drowned out the "Shahrir, Shahrir" chant from the 2,000-strong partisan crowd, going faster than his qualifying time of 10.89s to take home the Games' most coveted individual medal and the Frasia soft toy (the Games mascot) he had promised his girlfriend.
While 15-year-old Masaki's race went according plan, the same could not be said of Shahrir. The Singapore Sports School student looked sluggish in the first 20 metres, then picked up the pace but just when it seemed he would finish behind the Japanese, he let silver slip.
"If there's one thing I regret, it's not seeing the Thai boy catching up at the end of the race," he said. "I prefer to be at the back in the first 20m, then to catch up at the 60m mark, but I probably should have driven harder at the start. That's probably why I couldn't catch up with Masaki."
Failed tactics aside, he admitted that he was struck by a bout of nerves.
"For the first time, I felt tense and a bit stressed before a race. Maybe it's because I was running on home soil, where there's a natural pressure to do well," he said. "At the start, the crowd was a bit distracting, but I have to say they were fantastic and I felt sorry that I had to block them out."
Whatever the reason, Shahrir's time in the final fell way short of his personal best of 10.90s. Asked if his runner had the mental toughness to become a top sprinter, coach Remy Gan only had one word: "Definitely."
Masaki has already promised his girlfriend a soft toy from next year's Youth Olympics, which Singapore will host from Aug 14-26. He wants gold again.
Singapore's hope Shahrir will meet him again, along with sprinters from the rest of the world. He has about a year to get his gameplan right.
Asia Youth Games: Quah Ting Wen clinches second swimming gold for Singapore
SINGAPORE: Singapore’s swimmers won one gold, one silver and one bronze at the Asian Youth Games on Sunday.
Quah Ting Wen and Amanda Lim Xing Qi led a 1—2 finish in the 50—metre freestyle at the Singapore Sports School. The quartet of Rainer Ng, Lionel Khoo, Mohd Kamal Dzulhali and Clement Lim won the bronze in the boys’ 4x100m medley relay.
Quah had a great start to the 50m freestyle race, and only team—mate Amanda Lim Xing Qi was in contention for the title after the half—way mark. But Quah emerged the winner, finishing in 25.43 seconds, far ahead of Amanda who clocked 25.68 seconds. Stephanie Au Hoi Shun of Hong Kong was third at 26.22 seconds.
It was Quah’s second gold medal in the Games. On Friday, the 17—year—old grabbed her first gold medal in a thrilling win. She came from behind to clinch the girls’ 200m freestyle gold with a new national record of 1:59.21s, breaking her previous national mark of 2:00.14 set three weeks ago at the Singapore National Swimming Championship.
In the boys’ 50m freestyle final, the title went to Hong Kong’s Lum Ching Tat. He finished the race in 23.13 seconds, ahead of China’s Sun Yuchen and Liu Chang who timed 23.59 seconds and 23.63 seconds to come in second and third respectively.
But it was South Korean swimmers who ruled the waves. Kim Seoyeong was a class above the rest as she took gold in the girls’ 200—metre individual medley with her time of 2:15.17. China’s Chen Xiaojun was second with a timing of 2:18.29 and Chinese Taipei’s Hsieh Chih—Lin was third at 2:21.65.
In the boys’ 200—metre individual medley, it was a race between South Korean team—mates Gil Byeong Hwi and Jung Wonyong.
But it was Jung who touched the time—pad a split—second ahead of Gil to grab gold.
Kim Seoyeong was back at the poolside half an hour later to add another title to her medal tally.
Her time of 59.99 seconds in the 100m butterfly gave her gold, ahead of team—mate Yoo Giyeon (1:00.45) and China’s Liu Lan (1:00.76).
Chang Gyucheol continued South Korea’s winning spree by clinching the boys’ 100—metre butterfly event. His time of 53.50 seconds was more than a second faster than compatriot Yoo Kyusang, who finished with a silver at 55.00 seconds. Kuwait’s Yousef Alaskari was third, at 55.21 seconds.
The South Koreans also powered their way to take gold in the boys’ 4x100m medley relay finals, finishing in 3:50.04 minutes, ahead of China’s 3:51.94 and Singapore’s 3:52.59.
Other medals won
Singapore also bagged five bronze medals on Friday, 3 July - three from swimming, one from athletics and another from table tennis.
Two of the bronzes came from the 50-metre breaststroke in both the Boys' and Girls' events. They were won by Lionel Khoo and Roanne Ho respectively.
The third bronze came from Rainer Ng Kai Wee in the Boys' 100-metre backstroke.
Singapore's fourth bronze of the day was won by the boys in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay when they came in fourth in the event.
Singapore also bagged a bronze from the mixed table-tennis team, after losing to China in the semifinals.
China was just too strong for Team Singapore in the match played at the Toa Payoh Sports Hall.
China's Chen Meng whipped Isabelle Li in straight sets, winning 3-0. However Clarence Chew salvaged some pride for Singapore by winning one set although he eventually lost 1-3 to Cheng Jing Qi.
Despite the defeat, the Singapore players were happy with their performance.
Clarence said: "Playing against China, there's no pressure for me. So I gave it all out."
Isabelle said: "Overall I think I played quite well. But I think I attacked too much at the end."
The other bronze in the event went to Chinese Taipei players who lost to North Korea.
Isabelle Li
Clarence Chew
Its just me and you <3 .
10:53 PM
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