| By Jonathan Wong | ||
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Malaysia's only representatives besides the football team, Byte CII sailors Khairunneeta Afendy (left) and Muhamad Amirul Shafiq show promise. -- PHOTO: BERITA HARIAN |
THE colour was neither gold nor silver but Muhamad Amirul Shafiq, 14, did not mind.
He was just relieved to get his hands on a medal yesterday.
The Malaysian sailor's third-place finish in the boys' Byte CII class earned his country its only medal at the Asian Youth Games.
This, after the Malaysian football team were eliminated in the qualification stages. The rest of their 59-strong contingent did not travel due to fears of the H1N1 virus here.
Shafiq said: 'I'm very happy to win this for my country and to achieve our target of getting Malaysia into the medal table.
'There was a bit of pressure, but once the competition started, I tried to ignore it.'
M. Jegathesan, the Olympic Council of Malaysia's deputy president, said: 'The kids deserved it after all the hard work they put in. I'm very proud of them.'
Malaysia's medal tally was almost doubled but fellow Byte sailor Khairunneeta Afendy, 14, narrowly missed out on third place. She was pipped by China's Gu Min, also 14.
It was a valiant effort by the Malaysian teenager, who had overcome a late start and a damaged boat on Saturday to remain in contention.
'I tried my best but it's okay,' she said. 'At least Shafiq got a medal for us... I'm really happy for him.
'Hopefully next year at the Youth Olympic Games (YOG), I'll have better luck and maybe win a medal.'
In the last race of the regatta, local lass Audrey Yong, 14, held off a strong challenge from Hong Kong's Man Ka Kei, 15, to secure a spot on the podium in the Bic Techno 293 windsurfing event.
The Mayflower Secondary 3 student said: 'I was so nervous before the race. The Japanese girl kept telling me, 'No stress, no stress' while we were waiting for the start.'
Her coach T.C. Chua was thrilled with her performance, especially because she was disqualified in one of Sunday's races.
He said: 'It just shows her resilience and ability to focus on the job at hand.'
Audrey's bronze, together with the performance of Singapore's Byte duo Darren Choy (gold medal) and Najwa Jumali (silver), meant the hosts finished third in the Nations Trophy, behind winners Thailand, with China second.
SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping was delighted with the efforts of the local sailors and their medal haul.
He added: 'I think this past week has shown we are ready to host the YOG and to also compete in a big way.'
