The SIM 32nd Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship concluded with Thailand’s Sakda Sakulfaeng being crowned the 2013 Asian Formula Men’s Champion and Philippines, Coveta Geyloard and Malaysia’s Geh Cheow Lin clinching the 2013 RS:One Asian Men’s Champion and 2013 RS:One Asian Women’s Champion titles respectively. [more]
Despite a promising wind forecast on Day 3, unfavourable wind and rain conditions forced the Race Committee to call off racing for the day. The rain persisted on the fourth and the final day of the event, resulting in no races being run.
The 4-class event attracted 134 competitors from 13 countries – Hong Kong, Japan, India, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Myanmar, Argentina, Denmark, Great Britain and Australia and Singapore with India and 2013 SEA Games host country, Myanmar, being first-time participants of the event.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) Vice-President Mr Ng Ser Miang was present at the Closing Ceremony as the Guest-of-Honour.
Results: Formula Windsurfing After 4, RS:One After 7, RS:X after 3, T293 after 3
Top 3 by Class/Division / Photos on Facebook / More photos on Facebook
Thursday 17 January marked the start of the SIM 32nd Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championships with the Formula and the RS:One classes. Both classes are this year’s Asian Championship events and fierce competition was to be expected. The championship kicked off to a great start with North-easterly winds going from 12 to 18 knots. With strong and shifty gusts up to 25 knots, the competitors’ endurance and strategies were put to the test.
In the Formula Asian Championship, the windsurfers struggled with their big sails and big boards against the unrelenting conditions. Jesper Vesterstrom, former world number one Formula windsurfer managed 4 bullets, while the surprise of the day was Christopher Newman, a British windsurfer based in Singapore. Newman is ahead of Oceanic Formula Windsurfing Champion Sean O’Brien after four races on Day One. Current leading Asian Formula windsurfer is Thai Sakda Sakulfaeng who is five points ahead of Singaporean Harold Ma.
In the inaugural RS:One Asian Championship which sees competitors from Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, India, Thailand, Myanmar, Japan and Malaysia fighting for top honours, the race was tightly fought between Philippines’ Coveta Geylord and Thailand’s Phonoppharat Natthap who are currently three points apart.
The SIM 32nd Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championship continues tomorrow with the RS:X Olympic class, and Techno 293 Youth Olympic Class starting their first races where the Singapore national windsurfers will take on their counterparts from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia and Thailand.
Competitors were challenged to shifty winds on Day 2 of the SIM 32nd Singapore Open Asian Windsurfing Championships with wind strength averaging at 7 to 8 knots and gusting up to 15 knots. A total of three races were completed in the RS:One, RS:X and Techno 293 classes while the only Formula race which was run was abandoned due to insufficient wind.
In the RS:One class, recently-crowned RS:One World Champion Coveta Geylord maintained his lead while seasoned Olympic campaigner and Asian Games Gold medalist Oka Sulaksana took two bullets to overtake Phonoppharat Natthaphong in the ranking, moving from 4th position to 2nd position.
Meanwhile in the Olympic RS:X class, it was a close fight amongst the Hong Kong team with the top three positions going to Lee Chung Ting, To Kok Yin and Ng Ho Yin of Hong Kong respectively. Team Singapore windsurfer, Chuah Jun Ler scored two third positions to finish in 5th place.
The Hong Kong team continued their dominance in the Techno 293 class, taking a clean sweep of the top four positions. Singaporeans Nicholas Wee and Ruth Mow put in credible performances, finishing in the 8th and 9th positions respectively in a fleet of 22 competitors.
