| By Jonathan Wong | ||
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Singapore sailor Darren Choy continued his dominance in the Byte CII class by winning both of yesterday's races. He won the second race by a massive 20-boat length. -- PHOTO: MARCUS CHUI/AYG WEBSITE |
National sailor Darren Choy is poised to add another Asian Youth Games (AYG) gold medal to Singapore's tally.
The 15-year-old finished first in two more Byte CII class races yesterday.
He has nine points, and extended his lead to five points over Thai Supakon Pongwichean, 14, with just two races remaining.
But the accolades at the National Sailing Centre were reserved for Malaysian Khairunneeta Afendy, 14.
She was delayed at the Games Village - the Swissotel The Stamford - awaiting the results of her Influenza A (H1N1) test. She sought medical attention yesterday morning for a sore throat and was tested for H1N1 as a precaution.
She tested negative.
Event and team officials agreed to delay the start of the race to give her adequate time to return.
But she was still late for her first race.
Even then, despite conceding a three-minute head-start to the other eight sailors, she showed tremendous spirit to finish third.
'I was crying from start to finish but I told myself to fight for everything and to try my best,' she said.
But that was not the end of her troubles. The fleet were ordered back to shore because of an impending storm.
On the way back, Pakistan's Khattak Salahuddin, 13, lost control of her boat due to the strong winds. It rammed into Khairunneeta's boat, resulting in a large hole.
Forced to scramble once again, the Malaysian teenager managed to get a replacement boat and rejoined the race. And she amazingly finished second, behind Singapore's Najwa Jumali, 14.
Khairunneeta's father and team manager Mohamed Afendy Abdullah was a relieved man after a day of drama.
He said simply: 'I'm proud of her. She sailed very well today.'
His plucky daughter - with 24 points - trails third-placed Gu Min of China by one point.
She and sailor Muhamad Amirul Shafiq, 15, are Malaysia's only athletes left in the AYG, after their footballers returned home empty-handed.
And Khairunneeta is hoping that she can do her country proud.
She said: 'After all this, I'm even more determined to win a medal for my country.'
