The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Plenty for Hafizh as 55 is significant in his early racing career
- Yi Ting on a mission
- Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances
| Plenty for Hafizh as 55 is significant in his early racing career Posted: 20 May 2013 06:41 PM PDT LE MANS: The number 55 is significant to talented rider Hafizh Syahrin. It is the Malaysian teenager's birth date and he intends to make it a permanent fixture as he charts his career in Moto2 of the World Motorcycle Championship. Petronas Raceline Malaysia team manager Barry Leong, who has been guiding Hafizh since the early years of his career, said they have been eyeing the bike number for a long time as it was a significant one for Hafizh. "We have to book the number as early as possible. His birthday falls on May 5 and that is why Hafizh likes it." Hafizh felt it was a lucky omen when he used the number for the first time at the Asian Road Racing Championships final round in Qatar two years ago. "He managed to win the race at Losail International Circuit and that was his maiden win in SuperSports category. "Hafizh use a different number for his wildcard ride at the Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix in Sepang last year but he will be using this number for the whole year," said Barry, who has been guiding Hafizh since the early years of his involvement in motorsports. There are plans to give Hafizh more wildcard rides to expose him to World Championships racing. "We will definitely apply for a wildcard entry for the Malaysian GP in Sepang in October and the Grand Prix race in Catalunya later this year as he is based in Spain. "If we have the budget, we will apply one more at a different circuit as the objective is to help him gain experience." "We need to prepare him and build up his confidence well so that he is really ready when we decide to put him to race a full season," added Barry. Hafizh finished 22nd in his first wildcard ride on foreign soil at the just concluded France Grand Prix in Le Mans on Sunday. If all goes well, Hafizh will be looking at a Moto2 full season ride by next year. |
| Posted: 20 May 2013 06:39 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: National swimmer Siow Yi Ting still has unfinished business in the pool. And that's to better her national records. She currently holds the national records in the 100m breaststroke (1:09.82), 200m breaststroke (2:27.80) and 200m individual medley (2:14.57). The Negri Sembilan swimmer took time off to complete her BA in Arts and Sculpture from the University of Arkansas in the United States in 2010 and only returned to competitive swimming August 2011. "It wasn't easy to come back after a year off. In a way it was fun to take my mind of swimming and just focus on my studies but I still have some unfinished business in the pool," said Yi Ting. "I'm still capable of swimming fast times so it's definitely given me a boost to want to try and break my national records." And the 27-year-old has no plans to call time on her career yet. "I'm taking it one meet at a time. The goal is to compete as long as I can," said Yi Ting. "And I'm training better than ever ... even better than last year. "I think I even surprised myself at how well I'm doing. So no, I don't think it's time yet." What's more, her stellar performance at the recent Malaysian Open Swimming Champ–ionships where she amassed five gold medals in five events – 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breastroke, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley – along with three meet records is proof that the swimmer is still as driven as ever. "I'm very happy with my performance. It's definitely a great start for me ahead of the World Championships (July) and the SEA Games (December)," said Yi Ting. In fact, she has already qualified for the 50m breaststroke, 100m breaststroke, 200m breastroke, 200m individual medley and 400m individual medley for the world meet in Barcelona, Spain. "I'm satisfied with most of my times ... maybe except for the 200m breaststroke. "I was doubling events the first two days of competition and so I think it finally hit me (on Saturday). "I would have loved to swim around the 2:30 mark in that one but I did a 2:32," she added. "It's been a while since I've dipped under that mark, so it'll be wonderful to achieve that at the worlds." |
| Razif: Indiscipline the cause of senior players’ poor performances Posted: 20 May 2013 06:42 PM PDT FORMER international Razif Sidek believes that there is more than meets the eye following the country's top men's doubles pair Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong's recent fall from grace. Kien Keat-Boon Heong lost to scratch combination Lee Sheng-mu-Tsai Chia-hsin which led to Malaysia's 2-3 loss to lower ranked Taiwan in the opening Group C tie of the Sudirman Cup on Sunday. They played without any sense of direction on court and Boon Heong even confessed to his coach that he lost concentration – half way through the match – but no reasons were given for his loss of focus. Razif said that he believed the senior players' indisciplined lifestyles over the years had snowballed into problems and were affecting their performances on court. He did not elaborate but said that there were discipline issues like late nights, gambling activities and absence from training. These, he believes, were some of the elements that prevented the players from giving their best during training and tournaments. And the former All-England doubles champion (with brother Jalani in 1982) has taken the Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) to task for the situation. "I have been travelling with the team (his professional players Mohd Fairuzizuan Mohd Tazari-Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif) to tournaments overseas and sometimes, I see and hear things," said Razif. "I believe that they (the BAM) are aware of it as well but they have been lenient. They did not nip the problem in the bud. "It is difficult to control the players if certain rules and regulations are not enforced," he said. Razif said that his "no holds barred statements" were not said in malice but he sincerely did not want the younger generation of players to be influenced. "What example are we setting? BAM must instil discipline in their players – even if they are seniors. There is no exception to the rule. If not, the juniors will pick up all the bad habits." |
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