Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship - Spectacular day 1

by Icarus Sailing Media on 24 Jan 2014 The 33rd Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship, taking place January 23-26, saw the top local sailors at the National Sailing Center in eastern Singapore for the first day of competition, plus around a hundred athletes from 10 countries. Conditions looked good with 12-15 knot winds seeing all three races completed in spectacular style.

In the Techno 293 class, the competition was tough from the beginning. All the sailors here are battling to get to the 2014 Youth Olympic Games. The wind was tricky with plenty of gusts and shifts as they put the pedal down for maximum speed.

Chan Tsz Kit, Hong Kong’s national champion, was the model of consistency with three second places in a row. Close to him was his team mate Wong Chun Yan, ranked second from the Hong Kong nationals, who kept up the pressure with a bullet in the third race.

Set Naing Aung the young gun from Myanmar who won the 2013 South East Games, had a strong start with a bullet in race 1.

In the girls fleet, the battle kicked off between Duangkamon Phongern from Thailand, who scored two bullets and a second, and Choi Wing Chi from Hong Kong, second in 2013 Asia Windsurfing Championship, who finished just one point behind with one bullet and two seconds.

In the RS:X division, three races were completed in great sailing conditions. The sailors were equally spread across the start line on a well-balanced course. In the men’s fleet Thailand’s 2012 Olympian Boonsawad had a great day, leading a super strong fleet. In the women’s, Ngai Wai Yan from Honk Kong, the 2013 Youth Girls Asian Champion, took the lead with a steady performance. Singapore’s Youth Olympian bronze medalist Audrey Yong didn’t have such a great start to the event, but she has a few days to recover.

We’ll have more action from the SIM Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship in our next report. Do stay tuned!