Nurul Ain keen to sail full-time
by Ng Wei Loon, www.thestar.com.my on 4 Jun 2009
Calling the shots: Nurul Ain leading the Perak Sailing Team in the qualifying rounds for a place in the Monsoon Cup last year. The Star Online
Nurul Ain Md Isa is considering her options to take up sailing as a career.
The 24-year-old from the Royal Malaysian Navy Yacht Club based at Lumut, Perak, says she is trying to convince potential sponsors to back her aspiration to take up sailing full time in her bid to qualify for the Olympics in 2012.
“Currently, I am working as an assistant manager to earn a living. Besides that I am also pursuing a part-time course in business studies.
“But, I am prepared to quit my job and focus on sailing. I want to fulfil my potential in either the women’s 470 or match racing,” she added.
After settling for the second spot in the women’s 420 category at the SEA Games and Asian Sailing Championships in 2001, she took a break to concentrate on her SPM examination the following year.
“I only returned to feature in local competitions after leaving secondary school,” said Nurul Ain.
At the previous SEA Games in Thailand in 2007, she went on to pick up her second silver medal in the women’s 470 class at the biennial meet.
Last year, Nurul Ain made an impact at the Malaysian Match Racing Championship skippering the Perak Sailing Team to edge seven other hopefuls in the fray for a place in the Monsoon Cup.
And she had the privilege leading the team comprising four other members in the side to compete against renowned sailors from 11 other established crews in the main event.
“For a start, we did not expect to qualify because we did not have a solid preparation. It was also my first appearance handling the keel boat.
“We made collective decisions and adapted well to the tricky conditions. It was good to stay unbeaten in the qualifiers.
“For the Monsoon Cup, we were disappointed because we could hardly match the world class competitors and finished in 12th position. We know that we have a lot of catching up to do.
“The experienced sailors were helpful and they were willing to share their knowledge with us,” she said.
As a prelude to the upcoming Monsoon Cup scheduled at Pulau Duyong in Kuala Terengganu from Dec 1-6, Nurul Ain is keen to protect her status as a frontrunner in the Malaysian Match Racing Champion-ship to be held from Nov 23-26.
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