The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Pandelela needs to perform better in the platform individual
- Jazeman finishes third despite a tough weekend
- A valuable opening round lesson for Amirul and Husni
| Pandelela needs to perform better in the platform individual Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:38 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: The heat is on Pandelela Rinong as she heads to the remaining two legs of the FINA Diving World Series in Mexico next month. Last season, Pandelela finished second overall in the 10m platform individual. But this season, she has been struggling for form. After the completion of the four legs, Pandelela is ranked third overall with 40 points. The two-time National Sportswoman of the Year finished last in the third leg in Edinburgh and fifth in the fourth leg in Moscow on Sunday. It is only her consistency in making the finals in all the four legs so far that has helped her to stay in the top three. Two-time Olympic champion Chen Ruolin of China leads with 52 points followed by Russia's Yulia Koltunova (44). Chinese teenager Si Yajie, who did not compete in the first two legs in Beijing and Dubai but won the subsequent two legs, is fourth on 36 points. Pandelela must find her way back to the podium in the last two legs in Guadalajara (May 17-19) and Mexico City (May 24-26) or she can forget about a top three overall finish. The champion will receive US$12,000 while the runner-up will take home US$10,000. The third overall finisher will get US$8,000. The winner of each leg earns 18 points, followed by 16 for a silver and 14 for a bronze. The rest who did not make the podium will take home points ranging from 12 to three depending on their final positions. Pandelela said she needs to buck up fast. "I will have to find out what went wrong when I return to training later this week. I will discuss with coach Yang (Zhuliang) to work things out. "Hopefully I can bounce back in the last two legs in Mexico. I am determined to be a better diver," said the 20-year-old from Moscow. Pandelela added that the competition was stiffer this year. "Ruolin is as good as ever. Yajie has been a revelation this year. As for Yulia, she is getting better and more consistent since the World Championships (in Shanghai in 2011). It is not easy to get on the podium," said Pandelela. The Sarawakian, however, is pleased with her form in the 10m platform synchro with Leong Mun Yee. The duo, who won the silver in Edinburgh and Moscow, are second overall with 81 points. China's reigning Olympic champions Chen Ruolin and Wang Hao lead with 108 points. In the women's 3m springboard synchro, Wendy Ng Yan Yee-Cheong Jun Hoong are third overall with 72 points behind China (108) and Ukraine (78). |
| Jazeman finishes third despite a tough weekend Posted: 29 Apr 2013 06:16 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: A third-place finish in the second round of the Formula Renault 3.5 Series (FR3.5) at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain proved to be a consolation for youngster Jazeman Jaafar. Challenging weather conditions combined with the 20-year-old Malaysian's inexperience of the FR3.5 put him on the back foot at the start of the weekend. He was placed 18th in the first race on Saturday. Jazeman, however, made a strong recovery to drive from 23rd spot on the grid to a 12th place finish in the second race on Sunday. It earned him a third place rookie podium. He now lies 13th overall with 12 points after the first two legs of the nine-round season. The biggest problem for Jazeman was during the qualifying sessions as he could not find the pace he wanted with his Carlin FR3.5 car. Jazeman only posted the 21st quickest time for the first race. He was then caught in the torrential rain during qualifying for the second race, aquaplaning off the track. His car stalled and he was unable to post a lap time. "It was a tough weekend for me as I wasn't able to extract the potential from the car. I struggled to get the temperature into the tyres and didn't really get on top of the car set-up. The difficult weather conditions did not help either. "It is all a learning process for me. I'm racing in a super competitive series, so there will be weekends like this as I continue to gain experience and build up more mileage and better understanding of the car. "There are always positives to take away from racing. This weekend is no exception as I gained more FR3.5 racing experience in the wet," said Jazeman. The third round of the championship will be a supporting race for the Monaco Formula One Grand Prix from May 24-26. |
| A valuable opening round lesson for Amirul and Husni Posted: 29 Apr 2013 04:07 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: Debutants Amirul Hafiq Azmi and Husni Aizat Abdul Malik can take pride in their performances in the Moto3 class of the Spanish National Championships at the Catalunya Circuit on Sunday. Torrential rain made it a difficult race for the Touchline SIC AJO duo and they also had to contend with a packed 46-rider grid. At the end of the day, both garnered a point each from the two races. Amirul, a graduate of the Red Bull Rookies programme, started well from 11th on the grid to be in the top 10 in the beginning of Race One. The 17-year-old, however, couldn't cope with the cold weather and crashed out on the final lap. "The condition was terrible due to the rain. I was doing well at the start of the race but it became slippery later on. I could not feel my hands towards the end of the race. To make matters worse, I lost traction on the final lap," said Amirul, who took Race Two on a much more conservative note and managed to finish 15th. "I hurt my hands after the crash, so I just took it easy in Race Two. There are still more races to come so this is a learning curve," added Amirul. Husni, a runner-up at the SIC 250 Ninja Cup, described the two races as a mind-blowing experience. "This is my first race in Europe. I wasn't expecting anything at all. But to finish with a point is just awesome," said Husni who finished 15th in Race One but crashed out in Race Two. "I tried to improve my pace in Race Two after gaining confidence from the first race. Right after the start, I managed to be in 12th position. But I think I was too eager. After four laps, I lost control of my bike," said the 19-year-old Husni. The duo will resume their campaign in Aragon on May 26. |
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