The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Musclemen flexing for glory in Myanmar’s ‘coming out’ party
- Chance to gauge SEA Games exponents
- No birthday joy but gymnast Tracie has plenty of reasons to smile
| Musclemen flexing for glory in Myanmar’s ‘coming out’ party Posted: 04 Apr 2013 05:37 PM PDT MYANMAR SEA GAMES YANGON: Sporting just a navy blue thong and several layers of tan oil, Zarli Tin says he dreams of becoming Myanmar's greatest bodybuilder as the discipline undergoes a revival after years in the doldrums. One of a new generation of musclemen, he hopes to be among the beneficiaries of a cash injection for the sport, which floundered like all others during the wasteful and corrupt junta era. "I'm not great yet, I'm not very famous ... but I'm trying, I'm on the way," says the jovial 33-year-old, flashing a grin as he flexes his grapefruit-sized biceps by way of credentials. Myanmar's reformist government has loosened the purse strings for sport as it hunts success at the South-east Asian (SEA) Games regional event which it will host in December, billed as the country's 'coming out' party. It has targeted several medals at bodybuilding and hopes to extend the nation's impressive record in the event. Home to a demure culture and relatively diminutive people, Myanmar has an unexpected lineage in the ultimate of exhibitionist sports – which was popularised through the 1970s by Arnold Schwarzenegger. Myanmar claimed two silvers at the 2001 World Bodybuilding Championship – held on home soil – a bronze at the Asian Games the following year and has taken a clutch of medals whenever the sport is contested at the SEA Games. But bodybuilders say those achievements mask a deep malaise, with woeful funding over the final years of the avaricious junta leaving them without decent gyms, proper coaching or nutrition – a huge cost in an impoverished country. At the final SEA Games selection contest in Yangon, 32-year-old truck driver Tint Lwin says he struggles to afford the high protein diet and supplements required to power him through a brutal four- to six-hour daily training regime. "The money I get from work isn't even enough for a single bottle of the vitamins I need to train," he says as an assistant applies a final coat of the stinking copper-coloured tanning oil to his back with a paint roller. "But the sport will get bigger ... the officials are helping us get better. It will come." Myanmar's sporting prowess was eviscerated by the former regime, with a lack of investment in facilities and planning choking the pipeline of talent in all disciplines. Football fell hardest, with the national team slumping from one of Asia's best in the mid-1960s and the 1970s, to claiming just a single 1993 SEA Games final spot, and a semi-final in the Asean Football Championship of 2004. For the nation's bodybuilders the demise has been less precipitous, but still keenly felt. Once they toured schools and colleges drawing adulation with their combination of muscle, machismo and showmanship. But the visits waned as student activities of all kinds came under intense scrutiny from the paranoid former junta after a failed college-led uprising led in 1988, which was brutally crushed by the army. Strongmen have flexed their way back into popularity over the last few years, with improved access to US bodybuilding websites boosting its popularity just as the reform-minded government throws its weight behind the SEA Games. While several contestants quietly share suspicions that some of their rivals take steroids, the high cost of the drugs and lack of ready availability makes doping harder in Myanmar than in western countries where bodybuilding draws its biggest fanbase. "The top bodybuilders are very famous here," says 19-year-old student Oak Tharkyaw who is among the raucous 150-strong audience. "It's a healthy sport, it builds your confidence and strength. It feels great ... the only bad thing is Myanmar girls prefer the small, skinny Korean pop star look." He breaks off to applaud as local boy Zarli and the five other contestants in the 90kg category waddle up to the spot-lit stage, their giant arms held crab-like away from their torsos. To cries of "squeeze" from the crowd, they strain through seven poses accentuating the main muscle areas – biceps, triceps, thighs, back and abdomen. The resulting mass of oily muscle, veins and sinew is both impressive and a touch grotesque, while the skimpy "posing suits" elicit titters from the female fans and bawdy jeers from a group of inebriated older men. Judges give marks for symmetry and proportion as well as the definition and size of the muscle, according to Ne Lin, a former champion bodybuilder scoring the contestants. "Our athletes always tried hard but we struggled for money ... all sports suffered. But the bodybuilding federation is now supporting us," he says, adding the target is two golds out of the five available at the SEA Games. Zarli finishes third in his category – not enough to take a spot at the Games' training camp but impressive given his struggle to afford the expensive diet needed in the run-in to a competition. For all the rivalry, Zarli says the bodybuilders are "like brothers", united by punishing training and an all-consuming passion. "We may be poor," he adds. "But we love this sport." — AFP |
| Chance to gauge SEA Games exponents Posted: 04 Apr 2013 03:55 PM PDT PETALING JAYA: National coach R. Puvaneswaran intends to use the SEAKF Karate Championships later this month to gauge their rivals' strength for the December SEA Games in Myanmar. The SEAKF meet will be held at Clark, Pampanga in the Philippines from April 16-21. "This is a very important meet for us. Since it's a regional karate meet, it will allow us to size up our competition for the SEA Games. It's like a free pass for us to gauge the strengths and weaknesses of our rivals. It will give us a good idea on what to expect in Myanmar," he said. Puvaneswaran also said that the SEAKF meet was one of two crucial tournaments – the other is the Asian Championships in Dubai in September – for his exponents ahead of the SEA Games. And he wants his charges to also take full advantage of the Dubai meet as it would be almost like a prelude to the SEA Games. Puvaneswaran will be hoping for an improved performance from his charges after their positive showing at the K1 Slovenia World Cup in March, when they returned home with four bronzes – through Nisha Alagasan (women's kumite below 55kg), Nur Eleena Malik (women's kumite below 50kg,) S. Senthil Kumaran (men's kumite below 75kg) and R. Govinash (men's kumite below 60kg). The coach is also counting on the back-up squad – comprising Senthil, Govinash, Thanaseelan (men's kumite below 55kg), R. Sharmendran (men's kumite below 67kg), J. Sharrma (men's kumite below 75kg) – as well as youngsters P. Tarshyent (men's kumite below 55kg) and Priya Shankari (women's kumite below 48kg) – to step up their game. Puvaneswaran warned his charges that much will be riding on their performances at the SEAKF meet as he would use it to map out his team selection for the Games. "They did well at the World Cup last month. Hopefully, they can come up with another good performance this time. Everything has gone well during training and I'm confident we'll be able to win a few gold medals in Pampanga," he said. "The tournament is the lowest-tier competition ... but that does not mean our exponents will have it easy. All I ask of them is to give it their best." |
| No birthday joy but gymnast Tracie has plenty of reasons to smile Posted: 04 Apr 2013 05:36 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Top national women's artistic gymnast Tracie Ang (pic) did not get to celebrate her 20th birthday with a medal in her first back-to-back international tournament recently but she's still brimming with joy. She qualified for one final at the World Cup Challenge in Doha on Sunday as the fifth qualifier in the balance beam – and finished eighth with a score of 12.325. Romania's Larissa Andreea came out tops with 15.500, and followed by China's Zeng Sigi (15.150) and Gabrielle Jupp of Britain (14.450). Tracie was Malaysia's best performer and it was only her second final appearance in the World Cup. She featured in her first final at the World Cup in Belgium three years ago in the same event. She had also competed in the Challenge Cup in Cottbus, Germany, two weeks ago but did not make any finals. Last week, she competed in the World Cup with Tan Ing Yueh and Farah Ann Hadi. "I turned 20 on March 21 ... I wished for a birthday gift but I didn't win any medals. I struggled in Germany but qualifying for the final in the World Cup was memorable. I've never been ranked fifth before – so that felt good," said Tracie. "We''ve been training at home since January and it was good to finally get a chance to compete abroad. Now we know where we stand against some of the best gymnasts in Asia and Europe." Although age is catching up, Tracie has not given up hope on qualifying for the next Olympic Games. She is even willing to undergo the punishing training regime. "I know there are few more years to go before the Olympic Games and that I'm not getting any younger ... but I'm not quitting yet," she said. "My body can still endure the high intensity training and I won't stop dreaming of the Olympics." Tracie, who is one of the longest-serving gymnasts in the national team, said that her next major would be the World Championships in Antwerp, Belgium, from Sept 30-Oct 6. "Gymnastics is not on the list for the Myanmar SEA Games this year. So, the World Championships will be the main one for me and my team-mates. This is another opportunity for us to gauge our standard. I want to perform better," said Tracie, who trains under coaches Nurul Fatiha and Nataliya Sinkova. "These two coaches work together to improve our standard and build our confidence. Some of my skills have improved since I started training under them last year," added Tracie, whose next assignment is the Islamic Games in Riau, Indonesia. |
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