The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Desperate Petronas replace Iskandar with veteran Osaki
- Aretha and Ainil finish joint top to make the cut for LPGA Malaysia
- Arif slogs his way through as others enjoy breeze
| Desperate Petronas replace Iskandar with veteran Osaki Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:23 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Petronas Yamaha Malaysia, desperate for better results, have taken the drastic step of replacing Mohd Iskandar Raduan with a Japanese rider for Round 4 of the Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) in Japan this weekend. The experienced 40-year-old Nobuyuki Osaki will take Iskandar's place in the SuperSports 600cc category when the race revs off at the Autopolis International Racing Course. Osaki is a title contender in the MFJ All-Japan Championships and has almost two decades of racing experience under his belt. Iskandar will remain with the team and continue to ride as a development rider in the Malaysian Super Series (MSS). Petronas Yamaha Malaysia team coordinator Melvin Tan said that the switch was made to allow lead rider Mohd Zamri Baba gain as much assistance as possible from the combined expertise of trainer Youichi Ui and Osaki. Former MotoGP rider Ui joined the team earlier in the season. "We swapped Iskandar with Osaki because we wanted to get some strong results in Japan and start winning races," said Melvin. "Osaki will be able help develop Zamri's skills and take the latter to a higher level and give him a fighting chance against Japanese riders. "If Osaki can deliver the goods, we may take him on board for the rest of the year. Otherwise, Iskandar will resume his position in the team." Japanese ace Katsuaki Fujiwara (Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing) leads the overall standings with 114.5 points. He is followed by Boon Siew Honda Racing Malaysia's Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (84pts) and Zamri (65). |
| Aretha and Ainil finish joint top to make the cut for LPGA Malaysia Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:23 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Aretha Pan and Ainil Johani scored a similar eight-over 79s for the second day running to finish top of the local qualifying leaderboard and make the cut for next month's Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Thailand's Porani Chutichai and Tanaporn Kongkiatkrai both carded three-over 75s yesterday to also earn their places in the main Tour event as the regional qualifiers at the Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. Porani had a two-day total of 148 and Tanaporn 149. A total of 20 young players from Brunei, Thailand, South Korea, Singapore and Malaysia battled it out over two days in a bid to qualify for the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. Only the top two local and regional players qualified for the prestigious tournament. The Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia will be held at the same venue from Oct 13-16. Eighteen-year-old Aretha said she was excited at the prospect of playing against the best players in the world at the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia. "I can't believe I have qualified for the main event. But I'm extremely excited to return to the KLGCC next month as part of the cast for the Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia," she said. "I was very nervous going into the last few holes. My aim for the tournament proper is to finish inside the top 30, just like Kelly Tan did last year." The 21-year-old Ainil, who only turned pro last year, is also looking forward to making her presence felt on the LPGA Tour event. "I was hitting better today but didn't play well for a few holes. Luckily, I managed to recover and maintain my score," she said. "This has given me a lot of confidence for the tournament proper. I can't wait to play in this year's Sime Darby LPGA Malaysia." The two regional qualifier winners from Thailand were also pleased to have made the cut. Porani said: "I was happy with my performance today (yesterday). "Last year, I missed qualifying by a few strokes ... so it feels good to have made the cut this year. "I know the course quite well and this will help me during the tournament. I am looking forward to being back here next month." Tanaporn too could not hide her excitement. "I played extremely well on the front nine and I am really excited to be playing in an LPGA tournament. I want to do my best and make my country proud," she said. |
| Arif slogs his way through as others enjoy breeze Posted: 07 Sep 2011 04:22 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: National back-up shuttler Mohd Arif Abdul Latif had to slog to clear his first round hurdle while a host of other national shuttlers breezed through in the Taiwan Open in Taipei yesterday. Arif, who won the Kedah Open in July and who is looking to make a good impression in order to earn an international career breakthrough, found himself stretched by local lad Yang Chih Hsun before prevailing 21-15, 22-20. He will face Hong Kong's Wei Nan in the second round. Arif stands a good chance of making the quarter-finals after his expected second round opponent, 10th seed Ajay Jayaram of India, withdrew from the competition. Another Malaysian who now has a better chance of going far is elite shuttler Chong Wei Feng. Wei Feng, who also defeated local lad Tse Hsieh Feng, was supposed to meet second seed Park Sung-hwan of South Korea in the second round. But the Korean also withdrew, leaving Wei Feng to face another Taiwanese Yang Chih Chieh. Liew Daren, Chan Kwong Beng, Goh Soon Huat and former nationals Mohd Hafiz Hashim and K. Yogendran also progressed to the next round. In the men's doubles, Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem continued their good run of form by smashing past compatriots Ong Jien Guo-Tan Aik Quan 21-13, 21-8. They will be joined in the next round by Mak Hee Chun-Ong Soon Hock and Mohd Lufti Zaim-Vountus Indra Mawan. However, Hee Chun-Soon Hock face an uphill task in the second round as they will be up against world No. 3 and top seeds Lee Yong-dae-Jung Jae-sung. Malaysia's challenge in the women's singles fizzled out after Tee Jing Yi and Lydia Cheah failed to clear their first round hurdles, further highlighting Malaysia's lack of quality in that department. In women's doubles, Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo, Marylen Ng-Lim Yin Loo and the Ng sisters of Hui Lin-Hui Ern safely made it to the next round. |
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