The Star Online: Metro: Central
The Star Online: Metro: Central |
| 800 yoga practitioners set to wow the crowd at the MIYC 2012 Posted: 29 Aug 2012 05:14 AM PDT COME National Day, yoga enthusiasts of all ages from Malaysia and overseas will be gathering to celebrate freedom and liberate their body of pain and stress at the Malaysian International Yoga Competition (MIYC) 2012. Some 800 yoga practitioners and 5,000 spectators are expected to converge at Kandiah Hall, SJKT Vivekananda, Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, for the event that will be held on Aug 31 from 9am to 6pm. The event is organised by the Malaysian Yoga Society (MYS) with the support of Malaysian Association of Yoga Instructors (Mayi). MIYC, which was held at a national level during its initial two years, expanded to include international yoga practitioners last year. It is expected to have 25% of this year's participants hailing from countries such as Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, India, Sri Lanka, Iran and Australia. MYS and Mayi founder Mani Sekaran said the event aims to create awareness that yoga is for everybody, serve as a platform to network and meet people with similar interests, and encourage a healthy lifestyle. "It is also an opportunity for the public to see for themselves the benefits of yoga and dispel myths associated with the practice — the prevalent ones being that one needs to be of a certain gender, weight and age to practice yoga," he said. "Yoga is accessible to all regardless of age, size, background and physical limitations. "It provides an avenue for everyone to become healthy, both physically and mentally, without needing any special athletic skills." Mani, who has 35 years' experience in yoga including 15 years as instructor, said yoga is a mind and body practice that requires practitioners to focus on their breathing and be mindful of their body. "Over a period of time, practitioners are able to better control their emotions, develop awareness of breath, better handle stress and behavioural issues, and improve emotional content. Yoga also facilitates management of health issues. "For children, yoga helps improve their posture, reduce obesity and develop better personalities," he said. "Hence some of the funds from the registration fees will go towards sponsoring about 400 underprivileged children to participate in MIYC 2012. "Any surplus funds will go towards an initiative where our instructors teach yoga at nine primary schools and two secondary schools for free." Mani said the underprivileged children who participated in previous MIYC events had developed better confidence and motivation, concentrate better at school and had improved behaviour. "Their participation at MIYC has motivated them to continue practising yoga on their own, or continue via free lessons conducted at selected schools," he said, adding that it would cost RM30 to sponsor each underprivileged child for MIYC 2012. "There has been a greater awareness of yoga over the past decade, but mainly among the exercising community. "Malaysians need to exercise, and yoga is a great way to do it because it is economical, therapeutic, has low impact and proven benefits." MIYC 2012 will feature four children categories for those aged four to 18, and four adult categories for those aged 19 and above. Each participant is allocated four minutes to perform five of their favourite yoga postures. They will be scored based on execution of the yoga poses, steadiness and alignment of the postures, flexibility and strength, degree of difficulty, and facial demeanour. Some RM19,000 worth of prizes in the form of Yoga Franchise course cash vouchers will be awarded to the winners, with the overall champion winning RM5,000. Registration fees are RM15 for children and RM30 for adults. There will also be booths at the event offering vegetarian food, yoga merchandise, arts and crafts, and games. Walk-in participants are allowed before 8am on the day of the competition. Visit www.malaysianyogasociety.org.my or call 03-2260 5322 (Vivien). |
| Derrick all smiles despite finishing sixth Posted: 29 Aug 2012 05:06 AM PDT TEENAGER Tiu Derrick of Kota Permai Golf and Country Club did not finish as one of the leading performers in the boys' Under-15 age-group but he was beaming with pride at the end of the SportExcel Premier-Elite second leg circuit at the Kelab Golf Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in Shah Alam recently. Despite finishing sixth in his category with 36-over 252 after 54 holes, the 14-year-old Sri Kuala Lumpur student savoured a special moment with his rare hole-in-one feat on the final day of the tournament. Derrick recalled that his first impression was his shot went astray off the green when his tee-off hit the pin at the par-three second hole. "I knew that it (the ball) hit the pin. I did not have a clear view of it and did not believe it when my flight mates who were standing near the tee box told me that it went in," said Derrick. "I thought it was more likely to bounce off to a trickier position based on the way I connected the shot. "I was searching for my ball elsewhere when we approached the green instead. My flight mates found my ball in the cup. "I was overjoyed by this achievement because I was surprised at my good fortune in sinking my first hole-in-one. "When I returned to the club house, everyone was excited too," he said. Meanwhile, Johor's Aaerishna Shahsthy Balakrishnan carded eight-over 224 (75-73-76) to edge South Korean Park Chang-uk (76-74-77) by three strokes to win the boys' Under-15 title. Lucas Yee of Clearwater Sanctuary Golf Resort came in third (81-77-82) while Rahman Putra Club's Sim You Jin and Mior Asyraff Haziq Zulkefli from Monterez Golf and Country Club were fourth (82-85-77) and fifth (88-81-82) respectively ahead of Derrick. Aaerishna also claimed the top spot in the overall standings when he was declared the top performer of the three-round meet decided on count back. The boys' Under-20 champion Kim Myong-kon of South Korea also completed his campaign accumulating identical total score of 224 (76-71-77) but Aaerishna had the upper hand with a narrow one stroke advantage from his outing on the decisive final day. The third leg of the Premier-Elite series is scheduled at the Kelab Golf Perkhidmatan Awam from Oct 19-21. The grand finals will be held at the Monterez Golf and Country Club from Dec 17-20. RESULTS Combined Under-Nine 237: Feirish Nor Feizal Nor 85-76-76 239: Jeneath Wong 81-79-79 242: Foo Tee Jui 78-82-82 Boys Under-12 227: Khavish Varman Varadan 74-76-77 246: Adam Arif Madzri 81-83-82 248: K. Rhaasrikanesh 86-79-83 Under-15 224: Aaerishna Shahsthy Balakrishnan 75-73-76 227: Park Chang Uk 76-74-77 240: Lucas Yee 81-77-82 Under-20 224: Kim Myong Kon 76-71-77 230: Lee Jeong Gin 81-75-74 237: Muhammad Asyraf Rosli 81-82-74 GIRLS Under-12 258: Winnie Ng Yu Xuan 89-84-85 296: Siti Sarah Feizal Nor 104-95-97 326: Zulaikah Nurziana Nasser 117-107-102 Under-15 246: Kelie Kan Kah Yan 80-81-95 253: Siti Zulaikhaa Shaari 82-91-80 258: Nur Syazani Amalia 87-86-85 Under-20 258: Nyca Khaw Wen Hui 86-88-84 259: Asha Lakshme Balakrishnan 85-88-86 262: Celine Lim Shwli Ling 90-90-82 |
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