The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Jazeman mulling move to World Series or GP2
- Wei Feng wants Gold
- Hatta makes smashing return as karate exponents excel in Bangkok
| Jazeman mulling move to World Series or GP2 Posted: 02 Oct 2012 07:05 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Jazeman Jaafar is considering moving to a more challenging series after his runner-up finish in the British F3 International Series. Jazeman is setting his sights on either the World Series by Renault or the GP2 Series next year as the natural career progression after achieving his best overall placing in the British F3 championship. Jazeman was sixth overall last year but stamped his mark this year for his Carlin team and was in the title mix until the last race. The 19-year-old was quick and consistent in each of the 10 race weekends and enjoyed 15 podium finishes as he took the title fight down to the wire. "Hopefully, my next move will continue to be supported by Petronas. I hope other corporate sponsors will also show their support as it can't just be Petronas doing it all alone. "I hope to test the cars in both the World Series by Renault and GP2 before the year is over. My decision will be based on which cars I'm more comfortable with as the they are more powerful than those in British F3," he said. The GP2 Series and World Series by Renault are the ideal training ground for drivers before they get into Formula 1. They are run as support races during the F1 weekends. Stars like Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg and Romain Grosjean are among former winners of the GP2 Series while Robert Kubica and Heikki Kovalainen were notable past champions of the World Series by Renault. The races are longer with pitstops and the cars run on F1 tyres, but Jazeman is optimistic he can handle the challenge. "Over the last three years in British F3, I've matured as a driver and honed my driving skills to get the results I felt I was capable of achieving," said Jazeman. "It's been an exciting journey and I've been improving with each season. I was 12th in my first year, sixth last year and now second, so it's been a great three years of F3. "I look forward to another exciting year with new challenges and new championships," added the Formula 1 hopeful. As an elite athlete, Jazeman will continue to follow a strict fitness regime, including a winter programme of endurance activities. His coach of five years, Bruce Jouanny, said Jazeman is disciplined and shuns night life even though he is based in London. "His life is boring as it has lots of physical preparation and conditioning when he isn't behind the wheels," said Jouanny. "He has already proved what he's capable of and has to get ready for the next stage of his career. "He needs to step up his physical training over the winter break as he has to put on more weight to handle the heavier cars." Jazeman is the youngest and only Malaysian winner of the Formula BMW Asia Pacific (now known as the JK Asia Racing series) in 2007. |
| Posted: 02 Oct 2012 07:09 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: National singles shuttler Chong Wei Feng has been playing with an extra spring in his step lately. His rise to No. 27 in the world rankings has made him the national No. 2 and boosted his confidence ahead of the Taiwan Open GP Gold, which starts in Taipei today. The 25-year-old Wei Feng is one of the most improved shutlers this year and has been playing with an air of confidence since coming through the qualifiers to make the second round of the All-England in March, before losing to world No. 2 Lin Dan. He has also achieved several creditable results of late, notably making the quarter-finals of the Japan Open last month and the Singapore Open in June. Wei Feng's performance in Japan is certainly laudable as he recovered from a terrible start to produce a stunning finish in beating home favourite Kenichi Tago in the first round. The Kedahan is quietly confident of his chances in Taipei, where he will face seventh seed Alamsyah Yunus of Indonesia, who is now ranked lower than him at No. 29. "I have played Alamsyah once and lost in three close games. He will still be the favourite because of his experience but I am out for revenge and I believe I can take him out," said Wei Feng. "It's great to finally climb up the rankings ... it has given me more confidence. "But what matters most is not about being ranked second in the country because my main focus is to continue playing well. I am seeking to do that in Taipei." If he beats Alamsyah, Wei Feng will face local lad Chun Shih Kuei in the second round, with Hong Kong's Chan Yan Kit a potential third round opponent. Besides Wei Feng, the other Malaysian shuttlers in the fray are Liew Daren, Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, Misbun Ramdan Misbun, Iskandar Zulkarnian Zainuddin, Goh Soon Huat and KLRC's Zulfadli Zulkifli. Of the lot, world No. 28 Daren has a clear shot at making the semi-finals at least following the withdrawals of several top players, including world No. 10 Tago and world No. 19 Dionysius Hayom Rumbaka. The only other recognised top player in his half is in-form world No. 15 Hu Yun of Hong Kong, seeded fifth here in Taiwan. In the men's doubles, the Malaysian pairs competing are Mohd Lufti Zaim-Teo Kok Siang, Chooi Kah Ming-Ow Yao Han, Nelson Heg-Teo Ee Yi. The professional duo of Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif are also taking part in the tournament. |
| Hatta makes smashing return as karate exponents excel in Bangkok Posted: 02 Oct 2012 04:38 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Former Asian champion Mohd Hatta Mahamut (pic) made a successful return to competition after a one-year absence as the national team flexed their muscles with a nine-gold show in the inaugural South-East Asia (SEA) Karate Championships in Bangkok. Hatta overcame Indonesia SEA Games bronze medallist Hendro Salim in the men's individual kumite below 84kg final to mark his comeback after he was sidelined by a knee injury last year. Hatta became the first Malaysian winner of the men's 84kg kumite title at the Asian Karate Championships in China in July last year but it came at a price as he sustained the injury there. He had to undergo surgery and subsequently missed the chance to defend the SEA Games gold medal won two years earlier in Laos. Hatta was one of the five Malaysian gold medallists in kumite with Indonesia SEA Games champions Loganesha Rao, Shaharudin Jamaludin and K. Teagarajan also living up to their billing in their respective categories. G. Yamini was the only Malaysian woman kumite exponent to take gold in the below 61kg event. Two-time Asian champion Ricky Leong Tze Wai led the way in the kata (performance) discipline as he avenged his SEA Games defeat by Indonesia's Faisal Zainuddin in the men's individual category and rallied his team-mates Kam Kah Sam and Lim Chee Wei to victory in the team event. Thor Chee Yee, the Kuantan Sukma gold medallist, secured the women's individual title and added a second in the team event with Celine Lee and Khaw Yee Voon. The nine-gold performance paved the way for Malaysia to finish second in the overall medals tally behind Indonesia, losing out by just one silver. What made it sweeter was that Malaysia only sent the seniors and did not contest in the junior categories. Former Asian Games gold medallist R. Puvaneswaran, who is handling the national squad together with Latvian coach Andris Vasiljevs, was pleased with the performance of the exponents ahead of the World Championships in Paris next month. "The SEA championships were just a warm-up for Paris. I'm happy with most of them as they gave a good account of themselves. Hatta did well as he hasn't competed for more than a year after his knee operation. "He missed the chance to defend his Asian title and, hopefully, this will give him the confidence to win his place in the world championships," said Puvaneswaran. |
| You are subscribed to email updates from The Star Online: Sports To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 ulasan:
Catat Ulasan