Double joy for Singapore as kitefoiler Maximilian Maeder and sailor Ryan Lo strike gold at the Asian Games

NINGBO – A line had gathered at the Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Centre on Wednesday as volunteers waited to take photos with newly crowned men’s Formula Kite Asian Games champion Maximilian Maeder.

One had even brought a model boat for the Singaporean to sign. The teenager, who turned 17 earlier in September, has captured the attention of many with his performances on the international circuit, including winning the world championships in August.

This was his first Asiad and Maximilian has been utterly dominant. He had won all 16 of his races and needed just one win in the medal series to secure the gold but did not even have to get wet on Wednesday after bad weather conditions meant all races were cancelled.

He topped the fleet of seven with 13 net points, followed by China’s Zhang Haoran (26) and Thai Joseph Weston (38). He said: “I was definitely excited to go out and compete and give it one last race, but the conditions are what they are and I am no less happy for sure.

“It’s a lot of people being here and supporting you... In case something went wrong or you get bad luck, you’re still a great member of the team and you don’t have pressure to need to perform, but you say ‘I’ve got you. In case something bad happens, I’ll still be there to support you’.”

He and compatriot Ryan Lo, who won the ILCA 7 event, were the first athletes to strike gold for Singapore at the Hangzhou Games.

This was also Lo’s first Asiad title, after bronzes in the Optimist and Laser Standard at the 2010 and 2018 Games respectively. In the process, he secured an Olympic quota spot for Singapore at the 2024 Paris Games.

Lo, 26, was his usual calm and composed self but, in the two hours leading up to it, he had been a bundle of nerves. With the start of races delayed, Lo, who was in first place and seven points ahead of South Korea’s Ha Jee-min, faced an anxious wait to see if the medal race would commence.

For the entire morning, he was tracking the ILCA 6 race – it was later cancelled but had been scheduled to start at 11am, an hour before his own event – and monitoring the wind conditions to mentally prepare himself in case he needed to race at the last minute.

He said: “It was a bit nerve-racking, having to wait this long for a race, but I’m just glad to be able to finish this event, win it and qualify the country (for the Olympics). I cannot complain and I’m just really satisfied with my week.

“I’m looking forward to improving and working on what I need to work on in the upcoming year and to qualify myself personally for the Olympics.”

It was not all smooth sailing for the four-time SEA Games champion, who sat fourth after the first day of the regatta. While Lo, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, had to “dig deep to try and find my form and consistency and try not to get too affected by any sort of negative experiences on water”, he was happy with how he managed to control himself both emotionally and psychologically.

With Victoria Chan adding a bronze in the ILCA 6 on Wednesday, Singapore’s sailors wrapped up their Asian Games campaign with two golds, two silvers and three bronzes, placing them third behind China (6-2-0) and Thailand (3-2-2). At the last edition in Jakarta in 2018, Singapore took home a gold and a bronze.

Chung Pei Ming, Singapore Sailing head of high performance and coaching, said the contingent had exceeded expectations, noting this was an important year with the SEA Games and Asian Games.

He said: “It’s also been about getting closer to the podium and, right now, we are looking at a promising medal in 2024.

“Ryan has been in our programme from very young – that would be a testament to our programme being successful and there being a good, solid pathway that builds up enough confidence for the youth to say, ‘I’m going to do something different, I’m going to go on an Olympic campaign’.”

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong, who was in Ningbo, said: “Overall, it was a fantastic showing by the sailing team. This sets up quite well for the next couple of months as we lead into Paris 2024.”