1st Asian Youth Games Singapore 2009 - day 2

by Dawn Liu, SingaporeSailing on 1 Jul 2009 <>With three races already completed on the Byte course and two done for the windsurfers, two more races were scheduled for the second day of racing.At the top of the leaderboard when the day started were Singapore, Thailand, and China, all hungry to defend their positions.

Race 3 for the windsurfers kicked off just after noon with similar breeze to the previous day's. The Bytes took a little longer to get started, as a longer postponement time and subsequent shifty winds had the race committee scrambling to shift marks around to ensure a fair course. Both fleets were able to complete their scheduled races, however, bringing the total number of races to 5 for the Bytes and 4 for the Bic Technos.

Byte Girls
The girls fleet saw some intense competition among the top three competitors. Singapore's Najwa Jumali was clearly not content to stay in third. A second and a first brought her up to second position today, tied on points with China Gu Min. The latter actually finished first in the first race of the day, but was disqualified for being on course side at the start. Thailand's Jittiwa Thanawitwilat concluded the day with a total of 6 points, maintaining her lead by three points over the other two.

The racing conditions have been optimal for Thanawitwilat. There have been similar winds since the practice race - 'Wind is okay, quite light,' said Jittiwa then. Light winds are good for the light ex-Optimist sailor, who only converted to Byte two months ago.

Byte Boys
Darren Choy of Singapore proved that his spectacular performance on the first day was no fluke as he followed up with a second and a first. The first race saw him battling hard against Thailand's Supakon Pongwichean, who ultimately took line honours. In the second race, however, Choy was able to overtake Pongwichean on the last downwind leg to add one more bullet to his impressive scorecard. Singapore and Thailand are still lying first and second respectively overall.

Although China's Lu Tianhong took an early lead in the first race of the day, a capsize on the first downwind put him out of commission. He battled on bravely though, determined to finish the race even in last place. In the next race, he made a comeback, finishing fourth. Fortunately for him, the first discard kicks in with the completion of race 5, so he's still well in the running for this regatta.

Malaysia's Muhamad Amirul Shafiq was third in both races, pushing his ranking up to third overall.

Windsurfing Girls
The girls Bic Techno fleet has seen a overhaul in the charts, with first to fourth positions all altering.

Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam slipped behind China's Hao Xiumei by a point, winning the first race but coming in third behind China and Singapore for the second race of the day, while Hong Kong's Man Ka Kei has dropped to fourth, with Audrey Yong from Singapore coming up to claim third position.

Audrey's coach, Chua Tan-Ching, was pleased with her performance in this competitive fleet. 'The competition is very high despite the small group,' he said. 'It's good to know that we're able to match up.'

Windsurfing Boys
China's Wei Bipeng is still going strong in the boys fleet, finishing yet another day with two wins. He is now ahead of his nearest competitor, Kim Chaneui from the Republic of Korea, by six points.

A fierce effort by Vantana Nakaret of Thailand saw him overtaking Kwok Tsz Him, rounding up what was altogether a good day on water for Thailand, as he now moves into third, the last Thai sailor to make a podium position.

Thailand is now looking the strongest in the bid for the Nations Cup, with all four of its sailors in medal positions. Singapore and China are still strong contenders, though, with their Byte and Bic Techno boy representatives performing excellently in their respective classes.

Racing continues July 2, with another two races scheduled. The windsurfing classes will have their discards kick in with the next race, just before the reserve day.