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Laser sailor qualifies for Beijing despite back, hand problems and strong winds
NATIONAL sailor Koh Seng Leong's gritty performance in the strong winds off the central coast of New South Wales, Australia, secured Singapore another slot at the Olympics yesterday.
The 24-year-old's consistency saw him finish 77th among 157 sailors at the week-long Laser World Championships in Terrigal.
The result was good enough to gain one of the 10 Olympic slots on offer at the second and final Laser qualifier.
Race officials abandoned racing on the final day, after southerly winds blew up to 33 knots and seas rose up to 3.5 metres yesterday.
'I'm happy and very relieved that it's over,' he said over the phone from the racing site at Gosford Sailing Club.
'I experienced a lot of stress to qualify. It was a very difficult task, so I'm glad I made it.'
This is the second boat class that Singapore has qualified for this year's Olympics, after the pair of Chung Peiming and Roy Tay earned a slot in the 470 Men class at last year's World Championships.
Laser sailor Stanley Tan was the first local sailor to qualify on merit when he earned his slot in Athens 2004.
If selected, Beijing will be Koh's second Olympics. He competed in Sydney 2000 on a wild card as a 470 crew for Tan Wearn Haw.
Yet, only six months ago, Koh's dreams of glory in Qingdao, where the Olympic sailing competition will be staged, were hanging by a thread.
He was on the verge of giving up following a disappointing 108th placing among 149 boats at last July's Isaf World Championships, and persistent problems with his back and hand.
Now, he is back on a high.
And qualification marks a high point in a 14-year sailing career he summarised as 'up and down'.
Said the Singapore Management University business management student: 'I stopped training for a while after last July's World Championships and focused on coaching the Laser Radial women's sailors instead.
'I thought I would not continue because of my back and hand injuries, which, in Australia's strong winds, would leave me very little chance of qualifying for the Olympics.'
Back pain caused by a slipped disc during a training incident has been troubling him since 2002.
A freak motorcycle accident two months before the 2005 South-east Asia Games shattered the bone in his left index finger, fractured his middle finger, dislocated his thumb and severed nerves in his left hand, thus affecting his grip strength.
But, with fellow Laser sailor Maximilian Soh quitting the Olympic chase last November, Koh decided to push on.
'It would've been a waste if I stopped because we were close to qualifying,' said the 1.76m-tall, 78.5-kg sailor.
Except for a week, he has been based in Australia since December. He worked with renowned Australian coach Brett Beyer and 'a lot of improvement was made in the past month'.
Beyer changed Koh's sailing technique to one that used more rope rather than brute force to control the sail.
Sports medicine support from high performance manager Dr Peter Logan and physiotherapist Kelvin Wong also helped Koh keep the pain away and remain fresh.
The biggest secret of his success, though, lay in Koh's doggedness.
'My determination is innate,' he said.
'I just hate to lose. There's this gigantic urge in me to do very well.'
SingaporeSailing president Low Teo Ping hailed the sailor's resilience and ability to bounce back from adversity.
He said: 'Koh's what I call the three-'M' athlete - he has the mental strength, he's a model athlete, and he's all about motivation.'
EACH nation is allowed only one entry in each of the 11 Olympic sailing events.
Host China automatically gets a slot in each event.
For the Laser class, 29 of the 40 available berths were allocated at last July's Isaf World Championships in Cascais, Portugal - the first Olympic qualifier.
The Laser World Championships in Terrigal, Australia, started last Thursday and had 157 sailors from 55 nations competing - 25 of which had not yet qualified and were vying for the 10 remaining Olympic slots.
Koh Seng Leong's 77th-place finish ranked Singapore fifth among these 25 nations, thus qualifying the Republic for the Olympics.
However, the Laser sailor who will represent Singapore in Beijing - which may not necessarily be Koh - will be decided by SingaporeSailing through selection trials.
Beijing qualifiers
Singapore athletes who have qualified for the Olympics:
Athletics: Zhang Guirong, age 30 (shot put)
Sailing: Koh Seng Leong, 24 (Laser); Roy Tay, 24, and Chung Peiming, 25; Xu Yuanzhen, 22, and Terence Koh, 19 (470)
Note: With each country allowed only one slot per class, the two pairs, along with Teo Wee Chin, 20, and Benjamin Tan, 22, will fight it out among themselves to represent the nation.
Shooting: Lee Wung Yew, 41 (trap)
Swimming: Quah Ting Wen, 15 (400m individual medley), Tao Li, 17 (100m butterfly), Bryan Tay, 19 (200m freestyle), Nicolette Teo, 21 (100m and 200m breaststroke)
Table tennis: Gao Ning, 25 (men's singles), Yang Zi, 23 (men's singles), Li Jiawei, 26 (women's singles), Wang Yuegu, 27 (women's singles), Feng Tianwei, 21 (women's singles).
All qualifiers are subject to Singapore National Olympic Council approval. |
