The Star Online: Sports
The Star Online: Sports |
- Malaysians decide to stay in camp instead of going for break in London
- Chinese teenager topples Hackett’s 10-year-old world record
- Button marks 200th GP with stirring win to remind rivals of his class
| Malaysians decide to stay in camp instead of going for break in London Posted: 31 Jul 2011 05:17 PM PDT KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's World Championships-bound team were given a chance to travel to London on their off-day to relax and unwind. But the team, led by world number one Lee Chong Wei, decided to remain at Bath University at Bath Spa in Somerset County to enjoy their day off from the badminton court. And that has put the smile on the face of national coach Tey Seu Bock just a week before the start of the world meet, which will be held in Wembley from Aug 8-14. "To break the monotony of training here in Bath, we gave them two days off (Saturday and Sunday). The coaches gave them the option to take a train ride to London city," said Seu Bock. "It was a suprise when none took up our offer. They prefered to enjoy the quiet and serene city of Bath. They are looking very focused here and the coaches are happy with it." Seu Bock said that it was important to give players time to cool down after feeding them with so much of physical workouts on the badminton court and gymnasium and also engaging them in pep talks and video analysis. "Everything is so well organised here and the players are enjoying themselves as they balance training and rest sessions. We gave them a two-day break to take all that in and allow them to have some fun outside the camp." Seu Bock said that none of the players were sick as everyone were taking good care of themselves by taking plenty of liquid and enjoying the "home" cooked food by Malaysian chefs. The National Sports Institute have sent a support team led by Wong Ah Jit to look after all their needs. The Malaysian players would resume training at Bath before breaking camp on Wednesday. They will head for Wembley on Aug 4 to soak into the atmosphere of the world meet, being hosted for the first time at Wembley Arena. For the record, those in the Malaysian team at Bath are Chong Wei, Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong, Mohd Zakry Abdul Latif-Hoon Thien How, Chan Peng Soon-Lim Khim Wah, Wong Pei Tty-Chin Eei Hui, Ng Hui Lin-Ng Hui Ern, Goh Liu Ying (playing with Peng Soon in the mixed doubles), Ong Jian Guo-Sabrina Chong. Veteran Wong Choong Hann, who is an independent player and currently sponsored by Dunlop, will leave for Wembley from Kuala Lumpur on Friday. For the record, Malaysia have yet to win a world title since the tournaments' inception in 1977. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Chinese teenager topples Hackett’s 10-year-old world record Posted: 31 Jul 2011 05:17 PM PDT SHANGHAI: Chinese teenager Sun Yang toppled swimming's oldest world record yesterday when he shattered Grant Hackett's 10-year mark in the men's 1,500m, ensuring a rousing finish to the Shanghai world championships. Sun Yang, roared on by a capacity crowd, put on a devastating burst over the last 100m as he made up a deficit of more than two seconds to touch in 14:34.14, 0.42s inside Hackett's mark set at the 2001 meeting in Fukuoka. America's Ryan Lochte claimed a superb fifth gold medal, and stuttering Olympic great Michael Phelps enjoyed a successful final night when he helped the United States defend their 4x100m medley title. Sun Yang's performance was only the second new record in Shanghai, two years after polyurethane-clad swimmers set 43 new bests at the 2009 championships in Rome. It broke the only men's mark to survive the infamous super-suits era, when muscle-compressing swimwear helped set more than 200 global bests in just two years. "I was not obsessed with the world record before the final, because I wanted to focus on my plan - my goal was to win the gold," Sun Yang said. "I'm so grateful to the whole Chinese team, including my coach and my parents as well, and I think the world record belongs to all of them." Meanwhile US star Lochte, this week's other record-setter, underlined his supremacy in Shanghai with his fifth gold medal, matching Phelps' haul from 2009. Lochte led from start to finish at the Sea Crown stadium to defend his 2009 title in 4:7.13, more than four seconds ahead of team-mate Tyler Clary with Japan's Yuya Horihata third. But Lochte insisted he was "not really happy", saying he could still make big improvements before next year's London Olympics. "For the most part I'm not really happy. I mean getting five gold medals is definitely great but the times I went I know I can go a lot faster," he said. "There're a lot of places in my races that I messed up on, where I could have changed and would have gone faster but I guess I have a whole another year to make sure I have those perfect swims." Also on the final night, American world record-holder Jessica Hardy made a successful return to the world stage from a doping ban when she won the 50m breaststroke ahead of defending champion Yuliya Efimova of Russia. Hardy, who missed the 2008 Olympics after a positive test and was serving a one-year ban during the 2009 world championships, timed 30.19 - outside her record of 29.80 - with team-mate Rebecca Soni third. "I am really excited, I've trained so hard for that," Hardy said. I am really, really glad that I did it. "I performed very well. All of us did a good job." British world record-holder Liam Tancock defended his 50m backstroke title from France's Camille Lacourt and Gerhard Zandberg of South Africa. Sweden's Therese Alshammar won the women's 50m freestyle and America's Elizabeth Beisel won the 400m individual medley. And Phelps was instrumental in the United States' 4x100m medley win, as he took them from fourth to second in the butterfly leg before Nathan Adrian finished off the win. Lochte has long played second fiddle to Phelps but he has called the tune in Shanghai, beating his contemporary in the 200m freestyle and 200m individual medley, which he won in world record time. The 26-year-old also won the 200m backstroke and gave the United States a record fourth straight 4x200m medley world title with a super-fast final leg, after a slow lead-off from Phelps. FINA's doping control review board chairman Andrew Pipe said there were no positive dope tests during the meet, which was hit by controversy when Brazil's Cesar Cielo escaped a ban for testing positive for a banned diuretic. — AFP Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
| Button marks 200th GP with stirring win to remind rivals of his class Posted: 31 Jul 2011 05:14 PM PDT JENSON Button marked his 200th Grand Prix with a reminder of his class yesterday when he drove his McLaren to a stirring victory in a chaotic and incident-filled Hungarian Grand Prix. The 31-year-old Briton, who started third on the grid, made the most of some wretched ill-fortune for his team-mate and compatriot Lewis Hamilton in changing wet-dry-wet-dry conditions to record his second win of the year and the 11th of his career. "It's a great moment, all round a major weekend. "For some reason, I like these conditions," said Button of the slippery track. Back on the circuit where he claimed his first F1 win in 2006, for Honda, Button revelled in the demanding circumstances. Given a celebratory cake before the race on Saturday, he ate it with relish. Hamilton, having started second, led for long periods after taking early control, but was caught out by a succession of strategic errors - when he chose the wrong tyres in rapidly-changing weather - and a harsh stewards' decision to give him a drive-through penalty after he forced Paul Di Resta off the track. "The better man won today," said Hamilton. "The team have done a fantastic job. It's a fantastic way to go into the (summer) break. We would have liked a one-two, I let the team down a little bit but we will be back." Hamilton, who had spun in the sudden rain and then rejoined rapidly in front of oncoming traffic, ended up finishing fourth behind a triumphant Button, second-placed German Sebastian Vettel of Red Bull and two-time champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso of Ferrari. For Vettel, although it was disappointing not to win again, his second place was enough for him to increase his lead in the drivers' title race as his nearest rivals finished behind him. Australian Mark Webber finished fifth in the second Red Bull ahead of Brazilian Felipe Massa in the second Ferrari with impressive British rookie Di Resta seventh for Force India. This meant that the young Scot, in his first season, was the leading Mercedes powered runner in the race as he came home ahead of Swiss Sebastien Buemi of Toro Rosso, German Nico Rosberg in the leading Mercedes car and Spaniard Jaime Alguersuari in the second Toro Rosso. Seven-time champion German Michael Schumacher, 42, was forced to retire in his Mercedes with gearbox problems. — AFP RESULTS 1. Jenson Button (Bri) McLaren 1'46:42.337, 2. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Red Bull 3.588s behind, 3. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Ferrari 19.819, 4. Lewis Hamilton (Bri) McLaren 48.338, 5. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 49.742, 6. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:23.176, 7. Paul di Resta (Sco) Force India 1 lap, 8. Sebastien Buemi (Swi) Toro Rosso 1, 9. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Mercedes GP 1, 10. Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) Toro Rosso 1, 11. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) Sauber 1, 12. Vitaly Petrov (Rus) Lotus-Renault 1, 13. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Williams F1 2, 14. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 2, 15. Sergio Perez (Mex) Sauber 2, 16. Pastor Maldonado (Ven) Williams F1 2, 17. Timo Glock (Ger) Virgin Racing 4, 18. Daniel Ricciardo (Aus) Hispania 4, 19. Jerome d'Ambrosio (Bel) Virgin Racing 5, 20. Vitantonio Liuzzi (Ita) Hispania) 5. Retirements: Jarno Trulli (Ita) Lotus) 18th lap, Nick Heidfeld (Ger) Lotus-Renault 24th lap, Michael Schumacher (Ger) Mercedes GP 27th lap, Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) Lotus 56th lap. Drivers' standings: 1. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) 216 pts, 2. Mark Webber (Aus) 139, 3. Lewis Hamilton (Bri) 134, 4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) 130, 5. Jenson Button (Bri) 109, 6. Felipe Massa (Bra) 62, 7. Nico Rosberg (Ger) 46, 8. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) 34, 9. Vitaly Petrov (Rus) 32, 10. Michael Schumacher (Ger) 32, 11. Kamui Kobayashi (Jpn) 27, 12. Adrian Sutil (Ger) 18, 13. Jaime Alguersuari (Spa) 9, 14. Sergio Perez (Mex) 8, 15. Sebastien Buemi (Swi) 8, 16. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) 4, 17. Paul di Resta (Sco) 2. Constructors' standings: 1. Red Bull 355 pts, 2. McLaren 243, 3. Ferrari 192, 4. Mercedes GP 78, 5. Lotus-Renault 66, 6. Sauber 35, 7. Force India 20, 8. Toro Rosso 17, 9. Williams F1 4.0. Full Feed Generated by Get Full RSS, sponsored by Used Car Search. |
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