Singapore's Asian Games sailing debutants clinch two silvers
Jania Ang took silver in the women's ILCA 6, while Nigel Tan and Sean Kum also finished second in the boys' 29er.
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NAGOYA: Weeks before the Asian Games, Singapore sailor Jania Ang wasn't sure if she would make it to the start line of the women’s ILCA 6 competition, let alone win a medal.
A concussion as well as torn wrist tendons suffered in a cycling accident forced her to miss the World Championships in Ireland. And for the first few days after the accident, things were uncertain.
"I decided not to race the World Championships and just focus on recovery for the Asian Games," she said. "My first day on the water in two weeks was here, and up till then, it was a lot of uncertainty."
But with the help of her medical team, Ang bounced back and was "close to 100 per cent" before her debut Games.
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On Friday (Oct 9) at the Kaiyoh Yacht Harbour in Gamagori, Ang completed her comeback with an Asian Games silver. Compatriots Nigel Tan and Sean Kum also took silver in the boys' 29er.
Ang recorded strong finishes in her final two races to climb into second spot. The Singaporean, who won gold in the same event at last year’s SEA Games, finished behind Thailand’s Sophia Montgomery. India’s Nethra Kumaran took bronze.
"I'm definitely very happy that I managed to pull it together in the last race. It was really very close," said Ang.
"For the whole regatta, I haven't really been looking at the results, just trusting my coach to tell me whatever I need to know about the points."
FROM UNDERDOGS TO PODIUM
In the boys’ 29er event, Nigel and Sean registered two second-place finishes and two third-place finishes in their last four races to cement second place. Hong Kong's Louis Polson and Ethan Kiu won gold.
"Coming into this regatta, I would say we were the underdogs," said Nigel.
"We sailed with many of these really good sailors before, and we didn't beat them. So our goal in this regatta was to minimise mistakes and try to get on the podium at third."
The pair paid tribute to their coach Priscilla Low, a former sailor who with her sister Cecilia clinched silver in the girls' 29er at the 2014 Games.
"I'm just really, really thankful ... for her, for her support. I was quite stressed, especially in the first few days where we came in last," added Nigel.
"She really helped us calm down and focus our minds on what's within our control, and not worry too much about what could go wrong."
In the men’s ILCA7, defending champion Ryan Lo of Singapore finished in fifth place. South Korea’s Ha Jeemin won gold, Hong Kong’s Nicholas Halliday took silver and Malaysia’s Khairulnizam Afendy clinched bronze.
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