DOHA - IT WAS a role thrust upon him at almost the last minute.

But, since taking over from Koh Seng Leong in the Laser class just two months before last year's South-east Asia Games, Maximilian Soh has not looked back.

Yesterday the SEA Games champion, 18, added an Asian Games gold to his glowing resume.

Maximilian's success aside, the Singapore camp had other good reasons to celebrate.

There was confirmation of Colin Cheng's Laser 4.7 gold, Koh's silver
and Sean Lee's Optimist bronze.

Singapore are assured of at least three more sailing medals today.

Singapore's other golds came from bowlers Valerie Teo and Michelle Kwang (women's doubles), bodybuilder Simon Chua (lightweight) and swimmer Tao Li (50m butterfly).

Maximilian's success - the sailors' fourth, the others being the men'sand women's 420 classes - took Singapore's gold tally to seven.

Needing only to finish in the top nine of the 11-boat Laser fleet, the teenager took second spot in the final race to seal the gold.

Said Maximilian: 'It would have been nice to end the regatta with a win. But I guess I can't really complain.'

His rise to Asian Games champion has been nothing short of sensational.

He got his break after Koh was injured in a motorcycle accident in October last year. Before that, he was always playing second fiddle to Koh.

Then came the SEA Games win.

In August, he finished 11th at the Olympic test event in Qingdao, against some of the world's top Laser sailors.

Naturally, SingaporeSailing officials sat up and took notice.

Despite Koh's recovery, SingaporeSailing decided to stick with Maximilian in the Laser for the Asian Games.

Koh was moved to the Laser Radial, and did well enough to bag a silver.

Said Maximilian: 'I was confident coming into the event, but never thought I would win the gold.

'Malaysia's Kevin Lim is a three-time Olympian and this is his fifth
Asian Games.

'The Japanese and Chinese sailors are also more experienced than
me. And the South Korean, well, at 35, he has been sailing the Laser longer than I have been alive!'

Despite the strong field, he was never intimidated. He posted 10 top-three finishes, including five firsts, in the 12 races.

The only blemishes were a disqualification for a false start in the first race and a fifth in race six.

At the halfway stage, Koh was seven points away from the bronze. Coming into the last three races, he was fourth, five points off a medal.

But he finished third, first and first to leapfrog into second spot behind China's Xu Lijia, the only woman in the fleet.

She had 31 points to Koh's 33. India's Rajesh Choudhary also had 33 points, but Koh got the silver on a countback.

Said Koh: 'I sailed the race of my life today. I was seventh at the start. I was on the left when the wind suddenly shifted to the right.

'But, I knew that, in order for me to even win a medal, I had to win today's race. It was a battle.'

It has been a battle for Koh ever since his accident last year.

He fought back from shattered bones, fractured fingers and severed nerves in his left hand to win an Asiad berth.

He also had to lose 8kg, which he had put on while recuperating from his injuries. He cycled from his home in Simei to the Singapore Management University to shed the weight.

Little wonder, then, that he burst into tears when he reached land yesterday.

Asked if he cried because he was relieved that the races were over, he laughed, before saying: 'I would like to say so.

'Actually, I cried because I thought I had missed out on a medal. My mathematics isn't very good.

'But it doesn't take anything away from what I did today. This silver feels like a gold.'