The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Christmas Day duel sees Camper lead threatened
- Eei Hui-Pei Tty sent packing by Singaporean pair
- MNCF talk Fauzan out of calling it quits
| Christmas Day duel sees Camper lead threatened Posted: 25 Dec 2011 04:55 AM PST ALICANTE, Spain (Reuters) - Leading boats Camper and Telefonica entered the final phase of battle in the first stage of leg two of the Volvo Ocean Race with just 12 nautical miles separating them on Christmas Day after 13 days at sea. The Spanish/New Zealand entry Camper were only just holding on, with overall leaders Telefonica making big inroads in the three hours to 1000 GMT on Sunday as the two sped towards the secret safe haven port in the Indian Ocean. The identity of the stop-off location has been kept confidential as organisers feared an attack by pirates on the state-of-the-art boats which cost around $10 million apiece to build. First to the port will win 24 points, with 20 going to second. Camper are three points behind Telefonica on the overall leaderboard so first place would be enough to put them in front. Camper crew member Hamish Hooper said they were trying to concentrate on the job in hand rather than the Christmas Day festivities going on at home. "It's Christmas Day on board Camper and unfortunately for the guys there isn't a huge amount of energy to be put into it," he said. "Not that they don't want to, they have all been up throughout the entire night frantically working our way through squall after squall in what turned out to be some very hard and bumpy conditions. "The finish line is getting closer, and all everyone onboard Camper really cares about for Christmas is crossing it before any other boat does. Then there will be time to celebrate." From the secret port in the Indian Ocean, the boats will be placed on an armed ship and transported to a point near Sharjah on the Northern Emirates coast. From there they will complete leg 2 into Abu Dhabi. In all, the Volvo Ocean Race last over eight months and covers 39,000 nautical miles, visiting 10 countries. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| Eei Hui-Pei Tty sent packing by Singaporean pair Posted: 24 Dec 2011 03:27 PM PST PETALING JAYA: Malaysian number one Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty put up an uninspiring show and were promptly sent packing in the women's doubles semi-finals of the India Open GP Gold badminton tournament in Lucknow yesterday. The former world number two found the going tough against Singaporeans Shinta Mulia Sari and Yao Lei, losing 18-21, 15-21. It was a far cry from their performance on Friday where they were in their element in the 21-13, 21-17 win over Vita Marissa-Nadya Melati of Indonesia. The only good thing is that Eei Hui and Pei Tty, who were first-round casualties in last month's China and Macau Opens, managed to pick up some valuable Olympic rankings points. They are currently 20th and need to finish in the top 16 to qualify for next year's London Olympics. "We are a little bit disappointed because we could have played a much better game," said Eei Hui. "Overall, we are playing better now compared to last month. Our movement and combination on court have improved too. The only problem is our inconsistency and we need to get it right before the next tournament," added Eei Hui. The upcoming women's doubles pair of Woon Khe Wei-Vivian Hoo came close to a big upset over top seeds and world No. 5 Miyuki Maeda-Satoko Suetsuna of Japan before running out of steam. Khe Wei-Vivian took the first game 21-18 and even caught up while trailing 10-17 in the rubber game but Miyuki-Satoko proved the more experienced pair as they won 18-21, 21-16, 21-19. Malaysia's challenge also fizzled out in the men's doubles as Ow Yao Han-Tan Wee Kiong were no match for top seeds Naoki Kawamae-Shoji Sato of Japan, losing 14-21, 16-21. Meanwhile, Indonesia's Taufik Hidayat reached the men's singles final after a hard-fought 21-16, 15-21, 21-18 win over Hong Kong's Wong Wing Ki. Taufik will play India's Sourah Varma in the final today. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
| MNCF talk Fauzan out of calling it quits Posted: 24 Dec 2011 03:27 PM PST PETALING JAYA: Mohd Fauzan Ahmad Lufti is back on the road, thanks to the Malaysian National Cycling Federation (MNCF). The 25-year-old was so demoralised by his performance in the Indonesia SEA Games last month that he was thinking of calling it quits. Competing in the mountain bike cross country event, Fauzan finished a dismal 11th – a massive 12:03 behind winner Chandra Rafsanjani of Indonesia. "I really thought of retiring but Omar Saad of MNCF coaxed me out of it," said Fauzan. He has been included in the national team for the 10-day Tour of Langkawi from Feb 24-March 4. Fauzan was a road cyclist before venturing into mountain biking. He took up the sport seriously on his return from a two-year doping suspension early this year. He showed his prowess and was promptly selected for the SEA Games. Early in his career, Fauzan combined with Sayuti Zahit, Jasmin Ruslan and Thum Weng Kin to win the team pursuit gold medal in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila. Then in 2008, he showed his class as a road cyclist by winning the black and white tiger-striped jersey as the national champion in 2008. Fauzan will join the national team for intensive training next Sunday. "I was supposed to join the training in Terengganu on Dec 19. "But I was having my final examination at that time," said Fauzan, a lance corporal in the police force. Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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