Peter Gilmour makes Monsoon Cup final
by Lynn Fitzpatrick Sail-World USA Editor on 1 Dec 2007
Peter Gilmour defeating Mathieu Richard - Monsoon Cup Sail-World.com /AUS
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Sailor extraordinaire and former World Match Racing Champion Dato’ Peter Gilmour defeated a young field of sailors over a course of three days to storm into the Monsoon Cup final, to face Ian Williams in the battle of the Champions.
But the highlight of the day was Ian Williams overtaking tour leader Mathieu Richard by defeating Paolo Cian 3-2 in the semifinals, taking the coveted World Match Racing Championship.
This win means Williams has gone beyond the reach of tour leader Mathieu Richard and third placed Paolo Cian, regardless of tomorrow’s result in the Petit Final.
Yesterday, the impressive Gilmour defeated Swede Bjorn Hansen in the semifinals by a comprehensive score of 3-0 in the annual match racing competition which debuted in 2005 in Pulau Duyong, Terengganu.
Earlier in the quarterfinals, Gilmour edged 21-year-old Torvar Mirsky in a tight battle which got the crowd on the edge of their seats.
He will compete against Williams in a much anticipated fight for the prestigious Monsoon Cup after the quarterfinals and the semifinals were completed yesterday.
Gilmour congratulated Williams on being the new world champion and looks forward to use his vast experience against the young Briton and try to win the Monsoon Cup for the second time. Gilmour won the inaugural event in 2005.
Williams continues his good form of late to grind down the opposition despite his bad start to the tournament. Top favourite Richard was knocked out in the quarterfinals by Cian by a score of 1-3.
In the other semifinal, Williams and Paolo Cian produced a topsy-turvy duel with both sides tied at 2-2 at one stage but Williams finally prevailed to set up an exciting encounter with Gilmour in the Monsoon Cup 2007 final tomorrow.
But Gilmour holds the edge as he had defeated Williams in the round robin competition on the opening day.
The newly crowned world champion Williams however remains confident about his chances in tomorrow’s final.
'We have had a slow start in this competition but my team worked well and did not give up. We plan to give Gilmour a tough fight tomorrow.'
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