The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Hamilton hoping to stop Vettel’s run at the Canadian Grand Prix
- Hoo-Woon stun Thai world No. 7 pair to reach quarters
- Synchronised swimmers reap fruits of unwavering commitment
| Hamilton hoping to stop Vettel’s run at the Canadian Grand Prix Posted: 09 Jun 2011 06:55 PM PDT MONTREAL: Two weeks on from his controversial exit at the Monaco Grand Prix, Lewis Hamilton returns to the circuit where he claimed his first pole position and won his first Formula One race in this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix. The 2008 drivers' world champion, who departed Monte Carlo under something of a cloud after making a joking racist remark during a rant about the race stewards, did the racing drivers' perfect double during his maiden season in 2007. That year, he went on to miss out on the drivers' title by a point to Ferrari's flying Finn Kimi Raikkonen, but stormed back to win it 12 months later for his McLaren team. This season, after one win in six outings, he remains hopeful that, despite a massive 58-points deficit behind defending champion and current leader Sebastian Vettel, of Red Bull, he can still mount a title bid. But like everyone else chasing the 23-year-old wunderkind, he knows he, or another contender, has to stop Vettel in his winning tracks to prevent the championship turning into a one-man runaway. Hamilton looked fast enough on the narrow and unforgiving barrier-lined streets of the Mediterranean principality to not only take pole there, but win – before other circumstances intervened – and he clearly believes he can serve more of the same pure pace at the fast and dangerous Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on the Ile Notre-Dame. "I think our car should be well suited to this track; we have a great engine, the best KERS (Kinetic Energy Regeneration System) in the sport and excellent traction out of slow corners," he said. "For me, all in all, it's set to be another good weekend for us. I'll be looking for a strong result on Sunday." His McLaren team-mate, fellow-Briton and 2009 champion Jenson Button is also optimistic after sensing that he now has the speed and performance available to enable him to set the pace ahead of Red Bull. "I've never won in North America and I think we have the pace, the development and the momentum to have a good shot at changing that next weekend. I'm really looking forward to it," he said. McLaren's confidence ahead of the race on a circuit known for its high rate of accidents, attrition and unique challenges – it combines high-speed straights with hairpins – is matched, however, by similar feelings at Red Bull and Ferrari. Each team will have to set up their cars in a 'new' way after the relatively straightforward opening six events. Due to the speed, they will adopt a low down-force configuration on the track with the longest full-throttle time of all and ensure they have maximised their braking performance. Australian Mark Webber, of Red Bull said: "My favourite thing about Canada is the laid-back attitude of the fans, which makes the atmosphere very good. "The track has traditionally thrown up very interesting races due to the street circuit layout and because the low down-force configuration provides some good overtaking. "It's always nice to get the feeling that there's a GP in town even when we're away from the track and that's certainly the case in Montreal. His Red Bull team-mate Vettel said: "It is a very unique place. It's not a real track because it's on an island and also used for public roads. It's a bit similar to Albert Park in Melbourne, as it's mainly used for traffic with a second function as a race track. "It's also very slippery, the asphalt is very smooth and we saw last year that tyre degradation is huge, but it's always good fun. It's a great race, the atmosphere is fantastic and the fans are very special. "It's the only time we go to North America to race and it's really a cool place with the city and people." In common with their main rivals, Ferrari are also more confident as they anticipate racing on the harder compound tyres supplied by Pirelli and, with new parts on their car, producing a competitive performance. That, together with the harsh nature of the circuit and the many anticipated incidents and accidents, means another spectacular race in front of capacity crowds is in prospect as Hamilton, and the rest, seek to catch Vettel. — AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Hoo-Woon stun Thai world No. 7 pair to reach quarters Posted: 09 Jun 2011 06:40 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: The women's doubles pair of Vivian Hoo (pic)-Woon Khe Wei rose to the occasion to bundle out top seeds and home favourites Duanganong Aroonkesorn-Kunchala Voravichitchaikul en route to a place in the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open GP Gold badminton tournament in Bangkok yesterday. But it was a disastrous day for Malaysia in the men's singles competition as only veteran Wong Choong Hann was left in the challenge after the third-round matches. The unseeded Vivian-Khe Wei stunned the world No. 7 pair from Thailand, winning 18-21, 21-9, 21-12 in their opening match. They went on to beat Indonesian qualifiers Keysa Nurvita Hanadia-Aprilsasi Putri Lejarsar Variella 21-14, 21-18 to book a place in the quarter-finals. Doubles coach Pang Cheh Chang was happy with their performance, considering that Vivian-Khe Wei were playing together in their first international Open this year. "They were with different partners before this. Beating the Thai pair boosted their confidence in the morning. I hope they can maintain the consistency," he said. In the men's singles, national back-up squad's Mohd Arif Abdul Latif and independent shuttlers Mohd Hafiz Hashim and Kuan Beng Hong were all eliminated. And it was left to Choong Hann to carry the Malaysian challenge after a 21-10, 15-21, 21-12 win over Thai youngster Suppanyu Avihingsanon Choong Hann has an opportunity to gauge his form ahead of a record eighth world championship appearance in London in August when he takes on reigning world champion Chen Jin of China in the quarter-finals today. Choong Hann has played eight matches against Chen Jin and has only won twice. But Chen Jin has been struggling to clear the early rounds in the Super Series events thus far this year. Yesterday, the fourth seeded Chinese, who has dropped to No. 11 in the world rankings, laboured for a 13-21, 21-11, 21-14 win over Indonesia's Tommy Sugiarto. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Synchronised swimmers reap fruits of unwavering commitment Posted: 09 Jun 2011 06:38 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: They had to shuttle from one venue to another for training for almost two years after their regular place in Penang was closed down. But the unwavering commitment despite all the troubles paid off handsomely as the Penang synchronised swimmers rejoiced after bagging the first two gold medals at stake in the competition at the National Aquatic Centre in Bukit Jalil yesterday. The Penang team of Emanuelle Mah, Alyssa Izadora, Cheah Cheng Im, Kok Wan Ting, Leong Jie Xi, Natassha Julian, Nikki Chuah, Tasha Jane, Yew Yun Han and Yew Yun Qing danced their way to the gold medals in the technical and free disciplines. In the technical routine, they chalked up 179.10 points to finish ahead of Negri Sembilan (172.16) and Kuala Lumpur (132.75). Then in the free routine, they finished tops with 71.50 points ahead of Negri (69.50) and Kuala Lumpur (65.83). Emanuelle, who is one of the synchronised swimmers training under the national programme in Bukit Jalil, said that they were happy to achieve their mission to capture the gold medals in the team disciplines. "We are thankful to everyone involved with the synchronised swimming programme in our hometown for helping us to make this possible," said the 16-year-old, who returned home a month ago to train with the Penang team. "We made a few mistakes but thankfully, things turned out okay." Synchronised swimming was last contested in Sukma when Negri hosted the Games in 2004 and Penang Amateur Swimming Association secretary Soh Yew Siang said the two-gold achievement was just reward for the dedication and hard work put in by the swimmers, coaches and the parents as well. "We had to fight very hard to justify the funding for a sport that has not been in the Sukma programme for some time," he said. "The parents showed their commitment by never failing to sent their children to training despite the uncertainties. "We also did not have a regular pool to train in as the one in PISA has been closed for almost two years for repairs. We had to move around and to pay to train in private pools." There will be another two gold medals at stake in solo disciplines (free and technical) today. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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