THE strong winds in the Gulf of Thailand could severely affect Malaysia's five-gold target in sailing in the Sea Games in Pattaya.
2007/12/02
Sea Games / Sailing: Winds could hamper gold target bid
With the average wind speed of 18 knots not conducive for handling sails, the Malaysian team — who arrived at the Ocean Marina Yacht Club sailing venue on Nov 19 to get acclimatised — could struggle to achieve their target.
However, team manager Abdul Malik Sulaiman said the wind speeds have dropped to 8-10 knots in the past two days, and he hopes it would remain steady till the competition is over.
“We have young sailors in our team and they are used to lighter wind speeds. I am hoping the wind will not blow too strong during the competition. But at least it gives us a chance to prepare for any eventuality,” he said.
Malaysia have a large team of 24 sailors competing in 11 of the 16 sailing events, with the Malaysian Yachting Association looking to the 2010 Asian Games.
“A number of countries have sent young teams here as they are also looking ahead to bigger tournaments later. Only Thailand appears to have a number of experienced sailors and they will probably win most of the gold medals.
“But that does not mean we cannot achieve our target of five gold as I think we have a decent team to do so,” added Malik.
The optimist events — boys, girls and team — and the laser radial and standard events are Malaysia's best bet for gold while Rufina Tan, the 2006 Doha Asian Games optimist gold medallist, will partner Mabel Tan in the International 420.
Filed under: SEA Games Involvement
