2nd Asia Pacific Student Cup 2013 – End of RR and into Quarters

by Aaron Tam on 21 Sep 2013 The round robin stage of the second Asia Pacific Student Cup went into the third day of racing, where 14 student sail teams from Singapore, Australia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Ireland, Thailand and China fight it out for a spot to advance to the next stage of this match race event.

Day three saw sunny weather with good winds of 4-8 knots that allowed the completion of the round robin and quarter-finals.

The day got off to an exciting start when the Japanese team helmed by Kohei Ichikawa caught the anchor line of the committee boat one minute prior to their start in the first match of the day. In a bid to start on time, the Japanese skipper jumped into the water to free their boat and successfully did so enabling them to start just slightly behind Singaporean Denise Lim. The Japanese were quick to put the hiccup behind them and remained unfazed as they managed to pull ahead of the Singaporeans. Unfortunately, an outstanding penalty that was cleared near the finish line caused them to lose by mere seconds.

More on-water drama ensued after, with dragging of the pin end mark, aggressive pre-starts and plenty of shouts of protest as the round robin slowly came closer to its finish.

Standings after the round-robin: Skipper, nationality, won/lost matches:

Eventually the quarter-finalists were determined as the top eight teams progressed to the knock-out stage in a bid to advance to the semi-finals. The first to two wins will sail in the semi-finals tomorrow.

The pairings for the quarter-finals were:

• Justin Liu (SIN) vs. Kohei Ichikawa (JPN)
• Navee Thamsoontorn (THA) vs. Daniella Ng (SIN)
• Russell Kan (SIN) vs. Marco Gianinni (ITA)
• Calvin Lim (SIN) vs. Denise Lim (SIN)

After two flights, Navee and Russell won both their matches, entitling them a spot in the semi-finals. However, Justin and Kohei and Calvin and Denise were tied, causing a third flight to come into play.

In a dramatic showdown, Justin and Kohei raced to the finish in the last downwind lap. Kohei eventually claimed a shocking victory over round-robin winner Justin and secured his place in the semis. The Japanese team seemed to get better as the days go by and may just be the team to look out for in the remaining stages of the regatta.

It was déjà vu for Calvin when he and Denise came down to a final third match. Calvin and his team were determined to win their final match against Denise but could not keep up as the separation between them both increased. In the end, history repeats itself as Denise crossed the finish line first, allowing the all-girls team to secure the final spot in the semi-finals.

With so much action and excitement on water today, more can only be expected in the final day of the Asia Pacific Student Cup 2013 as the semi-finals, petit finals and finals go on tomorrow at the Marina Bay, Singapore.

Follow the event on Asia Pacific Student Cup or Facebook

Teams advancing to semi-finals tomorrow:

1. Navee Thamsoontorn (THA)
2. Russell Kan (SIN)
3. Denise Lim (SIN)
4. Kohei Ichikawa (JPN)