Darren Choy - Photo: Desmond Lim

Darren Choy is already a world-class sailor despite being only 16

SINGAPORE - IN HIS first interview with this newspaper in 2007, national sailor Darren Choy babbled on about haunted bungalows and ghosts at Singapore's training camp at Changi ahead of the South-east Asia Games in Thailand.

Shy, timid, and apparently superstitious Darren, then 13, was the youngest member of the Optimist team that went on to clinch a silver medal in the team racing event.

Darren has little to fear these days.

In the three years since his SEA Games debut in Chonburi, the Singapore Sports School student has collected medals and trophies the world over.

In Canada last August, he was crowned world champion in the Byte CII class - just months after he blew the competition away to win at the Asian Youth Games (AYG).

Darren's star is rising, and so is his confidence as he has taken on adults twice his age and won.
Still only 16, he is now hailed as one of the brightest prospects in Singapore sailing, and a potential Olympic medallist.

Not bad, for a boy who used to harbour a phobia of being in the water.

'When I started sailing, I was not very confident when I was in the water,' he confessed. 'The first few times, I felt quite alone and nervous.

'But now, I am very confident. When I'm at sea, I have no worries.'

But it was not all smooth sailing for the teenager.

After narrowly missing out on an Optimist gold on his SEA Games debut, Darren saw another major title slip out of his grasp at the 2007 Semana del Atlantico regatta in Vigo, Spain.

Leading the regatta until the last race, he was overtaken at the death by Spaniard Florian Trittel, who pipped him to the race and the title.

'I misread the wind shift,' Darren recounted. ' I was disappointed and angry with myself, but it taught me a lesson - to always keep an eye on the opponent behind me.'

His fortunes improved last year when he switched to the Byte CII to prepare for the upcoming Youth Olympic Games (YOG).

At the AYG, he strolled to the gold after winning an astonishing eight out of 10 races.

Said Low Teo Ping, president of SingaporeSailing: 'If gold medals were given out for every race at the AYG, Darren would have won eight of them.'

Then came the World Championships in Ontario where he defeated 32-year-old Briton Jon Emmett - the defending champion - for the coveted title.

It was a comprehensive win for the youngster who rose to the occasion against a world-class field of 39 sailors.

He secured top-10 finishes in all but one of the 14 races - no mean feat for a boy who was dwarfed by many of his bigger-sized rivals.

Size does matter at sea, where sailors who are stronger and heavier often find it easier to change the speed and direction of their boats.

But Darren, who weighs 53kg on a 1.65m frame, shrugs off his physical disadvantage on the international stage. 'When I see bigger opponents, I just see another challenge,' he said.

The teenager's quick reactions and decision-making skills make up for his smaller stature, said his coach Mark Plummer.

'When new situations arrive, it looks like he's seen them a thousand times before and instinctively knows what to do,' said the 30-year-old Scot, who used to coach Sweden's 470 women's Olympic team.

'Darren is very calm and methodical in his sailing, which is very unusual at such a young age.'

But it was not always that way. Years ago, he was a notorious prankster in school, often pulling chairs away from his classmates when they were about to sit down.

'Now I'm a bit more serious,' he said. 'I think sailing has matured me. My coaches taught me a lot of manners and life skills, so I think that helped.'

Darren, who has set his sights on a spot at the 2016 Summer Olympics, is gearing up for a big year.

Aside from the YOG in August, he is also in the running for The Straits Times Athlete of the Year award.

'I'm very honoured to be nominated,' he said. 'I hope to win it, but the other athletes are really good too.'