The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Fitri and Azhar carry their rivalry from Wira to CP115 category
- Defending Wimbledon champion given the eighth seed
- Bryan hopes to do well in world meet to earn Olympic spot
| Fitri and Azhar carry their rivalry from Wira to CP115 category Posted: 15 Jun 2011 05:03 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: CP115 riders Mohd Fitri Ashraf Razali and Mohd Azhar Abdul Jalil find themselves entangled with each other as they move into the fifth leg of the Petronas AAM Malaysian Cub Prix Championships in Teluk Intan next weekend with a one-point deficit. The duo have had strong rivalry in the Wira category last season. And they moved up the ranks to compete in the intermediate category this season to broaden their racing career. Fitri of Harian Metro TEQ SCK Honda Racing is more aggressive in his approach. He battled with the top runners in Terengganu (Round 3) and in Putrajaya (Round 4). Unfortunately, he crashed in Round 3 but made up for the disappointment in the following leg to secure a podium finish. He is in ninth spot in the standings with 24 points. Azhar of Motul Yamaha YY Pang has been consistently finishing the race among the top 10 except in the second round in Batu Kawan where he crashed and did not finish the race. He now ranks 10th overall on 23 points. Fitri commented on his performance in the first half of the season, "Everything has been proceeding well, considering this is my first year in the CP115," said Fitri, who hails from Rawang. "In the early part of the season, my machine was in top condition but I faced some problems adjusting to the high level of competition, hence the poor results. "The confidence started to come in Terengganu but sadly I crashed and missed out on the podium. Hopefully, I can get even better results in Teluk Intan next weekend." The current leader in the CP115 championship standings is Azhar's team-mate Zaidy Mohd Zaifaizal on 76 points. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Defending Wimbledon champion given the eighth seed Posted: 15 Jun 2011 05:01 PM PDT WIMBLEDON: Defending champion Serena Williams was bumped up to No. 8 in the seedings – 18 places above her world ranking – for Wimbledon yesterday, a position that will allow her to avoid playing the highest-ranked players until at least the quarter-finals. Williams won her 13th Grand Slam title last year at the All England Club, but then stepped on broken glass, eventually leading to blood clots on her lungs, and was out of action for nearly a year. She returned to competitive tennis on Tuesday at Eastbourne, coming back from a set down to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 1-6, 6-3, 6-4. Wimbledon starts on Monday. The draw is scheduled for tomorrow. On the men's side, defending champion Rafael Nadal was seeded No. 1, followed by Novak Djokovic at No. 2, Roger Federer at No. 3 and Andy Murray at No. 4 – in line with their rankings. Federer and Nadal have combined for the past eight titles at the All England Club. For Federer, it's the first time he's been outside the top two seedings at Wimbledon since 2003, the year he won the first of five straight titles at the grass-court Grand Slam. Since Serena's injury, she has dropped to No. 26 in the WTA rankings. If Wimbledon organisers had seeded her according to her ranking, the four-time Wimbledon champion could have come up against a top player in the third round. Her sister Venus, a five-time Wimbledon champion, was seeded No. 24. She has dropped to 33rd in the rankings since missing most of this season with a hip injury. She also returned to action this week in Eastbourne. "The seeding order follows the WTA rankings list, except where in the opinion of the committee, a change is necessary to produce a balanced draw," Wimbledon organisers said. "The only changes this year are Serena Williams and Venus Williams moving to 8 and 24, respectively. This reflects the balance between their proven records and also their lack of competitive play in the past 12 months." The sisters have combined to win nine of the last 11 titles at the All England Club. At the top of the women's seeding list is top-ranked Caroline Wozniacki. She is followed by Australian Open champion Kim Clijsters at No. 2, Vera Zvonareva at No. 3 and French Open champion Li Na at No. 4. Another former winner, 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, was seeded No. 6, one behind Victoria Azarenka. Clijsters, who has won three major titles since coming out of retirement in 2009, aggravated an ankle injury on Tuesday in a loss at the Den Bosch Open and is in doubt for Wimbledon. The second-ranked Belgian originally hurt her right ankle while dancing barefoot at her cousin's wedding in April. She played at the French Open, but lost in the second round. — AP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
| Bryan hopes to do well in world meet to earn Olympic spot Posted: 15 Jun 2011 05:00 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Platform diver Bryan Nickson Lomas is stepping up to the challenge as he seeks to kill two birds with one stone at the world aquatics championships in Shanghai next month. Bryan is raising his level of difficulties during the current one-month training stint in Dali, China, in the hope that it will not only help him secure a third consecutive Olympic appearance in London next year but also a prized medal in the championships scheduled for July 16-31. Bryan, who will celebrate his 21st birthday on June 30, hopes to successfully execute a four-and-a-half somersault dive routine at the championships. Three-and-a-half somersault routines were in vogue at the 2008 Beijing Olympics but the competitive standards in platform diving have since increased and the top ranked divers are now attempting a more complex dive. Bryan, who became Malaysia's first world junior diving champion in 2004, has a realistic chance to chalk up another first for the country as the first male medal winner in the world championships based on his bronze medal effort in the New Delhi Commonwealth Games and Guangzhou Asian Games last year. However, he needs to raise his performance if he hopes to challenge strongly against the likes of China's Qiu Bo and Zhou Luxin, Australia's Olympic champion Matthew Mitcham and defending world champion Tom Daley of Britain. "The top ranked divers have started using this routine but it's not so easy to get it right," said Bryan. "That is one of the reasons why the Chinese have not done well in men's platform diving as it is hard to control the rotation once you are in the air. "I have started to use this routine in training but I am trying to get the right technique to enter the water. I am also improving on my remaining routines and if my entries are clean, I have a chance to fight for a medal. "My main aim, however, is to get into the final to secure an early ticket to the Olympics." The world championships offer the 12 finalists qualification for the London Games. Bryan, who featured in the 2004 Athens and 2008 Beijing Olympics, has an excellent record in the world championships as he reached the top 12 final in men's platform in 2007 (Melbourne) and 2009 (Rome). His best placing was in Melbourne where he finished seventh in the final en route to becoming the first Malaysian athlete to qualify for the Beijing Olympics. Besides Bryan, the other male divers currently training in China are Yeoh Ken Nee, Ooi Tze Liang, Mohd Fakhrul Izzat and Ahmad Amsyar. The women divers involved in the stint are Commonwealth Games champion Pandelela Rinong, Leong Mun Yee, Trasie Vivien, Cheong Jun Hoong and Wendy Ng. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by USA Best Price. |
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