Singapore Sailing Federation

FOR 10 years, he waited for another shot at a South-east Asia Games gold. For sailor Koh Seng Leong, the wait goes on.

At the Ocean Marina Yacht Club yesterday, the 24-year-old finished second in the Laser Standard class behind Malaysian champion Muhamad Mohd Romzi.

'I'm beyond disappointed. Right now, I'm just a blank,' Koh said, minutes after returning to shore.

Heading into the sixth and final day of racing, he was second (13 points), one point behind Romzi. He needed to win the 12th and final race in the four-man fleet to secure the title.

Halfway through the race, he was in the lead, with Romzi second. But, as the winds shifted, so did his luck.

'The wind died, then came from a totally new direction,' said the Singaporean.

Indonesia's Sujatmiko Sujatmiko won the race, followed by Thailand's eventual bronze medallist Manat Phothong, then Romzi and finally, silver medallist Koh.

Koh made his SEA Games debut in 1997, when he won a silver in the Optimist event in Jakarta.

Sailing did not feature in the 1999 and 2003 Games, while he gave the 2001 and 2005 editions a miss due to studies and injury respectively.

The 2009 Games in Laos is unlikely to have sailing, so Koh's next chance for gold will be in Indonesia in 2011.

'I won't call it bad luck, just call it... life is like that,' he said. 'I'll wait another four years. There's plenty of time. For now, this is over and done. The next task is Olympic qualification in February.'

His girlfriend and teammate, Siobhan Tam, 20, had to settle for second best too, despite starting the day with a one-point lead.

Malaysia's Anuar Nurul Elia won the 12th and final race ahead of Tam to tie on 14 points and take the gold on countback.

Koh and Tam added to a clutch of six silver medals collected by Singapore's sailors Lo Junhao (Super Mod), Jovina Choo and Sara Tan (420 Women), Low Wenchun and Jonathan Chew (Hobie 16) and Russell Kan, Rachel Lee, Daniella Ng, Luke Tan and Darren Choy (Optimist Team).