Shooting golf in an unusual way.

One of the Golf picture that I shoot diferently from my usual style.

Elaine kicks up a gold

OLYMPIAN Elaine Teo made up for her failure in Manila two years ago with a dramatic come-from-behind victory on the final day of the taekwondo competition at the Vongchavalitkul Hall in Korat yesterday.

The 26-year-old lass from Malacca snatched victory from Loraine Lorelie of the Philippines in the women’s Under-51kg final, winning the bout 3-2.

She was trailing the Filipino 1-3 in the third round and fought back to level the score at the end of the round after Lorelie was deducted a point. And a last kick in the final round landed Elaine her third gold medal in five SEA Games outings.

While jubilant Malaysian camp celebrated on the stage with Elaine, Lorelie was reduced to tears after coming so close to victory.

“I never gave up and I knew that I would get my break,” said Elaine, who also won gold in the 1999 and 2001 Games in Brunei and Kuala Lumpur respectively.

Elaine, however, made an embarrassing first-round exit at the last Games in Manila.

“My next target is to make it to the Beijing Olympics,” said Elaine, who featured in the 2004 Athens Games.

Malaysia earned a bronze through Mohd Sultan Kader in the men’s Under-54kg division. He was beaten 0-6 by Thailand’s Khawlaor Chutchawal in the semi-finals.

Two other exponents in action yesterday failed to get among the medals.

Rusfredy Petrus was a loser in the quarter-finals of the men’s Under-58kg competition and Chong Kin Nee was an early casualty in the women’s Under-47kg category.

Malaysia’s taekwondo squad ended their campaign in Korat with a haul of 2-1-5, meeting the target set by the National Sports Council. The other gold medallist was Che Chew Chan in the women’s Under-72kg division.

Sea Games: Karate exponents chop down another four gold medals

The Starsport report:

THE Malaysian karate squad continued their onslaught at the Chanapolkhan Institute of Technology in Korat yesterday, delivering four gold medals for the second consecutive day.

S. Mahendran (men’s below 75kg), Lim Yoke Wai (men’s Open), G. Yamini (women’s Open) and Jamalliah Jamalludin (women’s over 60kg) all struck gold in their kumite events to bring the team’s haul to eight.

With the men’s and women’s team events remaining today, the team are in with a shot to cap off their fine run in Korat by improving on the best haul of 9-3-6 achieved in the 2001 KL Games.

In the morning’s competition, only a single punch was thrown in the entire bout of the men’s under 75kg final.

Glittering feat: (from left) S. Mahendran, Jamalliah Jamalludin and G. Yamini showing off their gold medals after winning their respective kumite events in the karate competition at the Chanapolkhan Institute of Technology in Korat yesterday.

The punch thrown by Mahendran 11 seconds into sudden death period hit Indonesian Cristo Mondolu and it landed gold for the Malaysian.

Mahendran won 1-0 in the highly tactical and unusual final that saw both exponents not making a single move throughout the three-minute regulation period.

He thanked national chief coach P. Arivalagan for plotting the strategy.

“Ari told me not to go rushing in and only to hit back when the Indonesian attacked. But my opponent was also playing mind games by being reluctant to go on the offensive.

“In the end, the final had to be decided by a single punch,” said Mahendran.

The win lifted a huge burden off Mahendran’s shoulders as he had not won in a major tournament since triumphing in the same event at the 2003 Hanoi SEA Games.

“It is a huge relief to finally get a big win after four years. I always failed before this because I pushed too hard to win. I did not put any pressure on myself and did not think of the gold medal until the very end,” he said.

In the afternoon session, Yoke Wai created history by becoming the first Malaysian exponent to win two individual gold medals at the same Games.

Yoke Wai overturned a losing position against Indonesia’s Yulisar Motuty in the men’s Open final to emerge as the champion, adding to his triumph in the under 65kg competition on Wednesday.

Yulisar was leading 3-1 with less than 90 seconds to go before Yoke Wai took charge completely and pummelled his opponent to carve out a 6-3 victory.

“Although I was trailing, there was never any doubt in my mind that I was the better fighter,” he said.

“I had to wait for six years to get my first SEA Games gold and it took me another 24 hours to get the second. Hopefully, I can create history again tomorrow by bagging my third gold in the team event.”

Yamini recovered from the heartbreak of losing the women’s under 60kg final in the morning to triumph in the much tougher Open category competition.

The Asian Championships gold medallist was in tears after going down 3-4 to Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Hai Yen in the morning’s final. But she bounced back to beat Myanmar’s Ohn Mar Pyo 5-3 in the Open final.

“I was upset over the defeat in the morning. But I managed to cast it aside to concentrate on the Open final.

“I am happy to make amends and bag my first SEA Games gold medal,” said Yamini, who celebrated her 27th birthday on Wednesday.

An unexpected gold was delivered by Jamalliah, who downed Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Nga in the women’s over 60kg final.

“After two years in the senior squad, I am happy to have finally bagged my first major victory. My secret to success here was remaining cool in all my fights. My coaches told me to treat the SEA Games just like any other tournament and adopting such a low-key attitude worked well for me,” said the 23-year-old.

Her younger brother, Shahruddin, settled for the bronze in the men’s below 70kg competition.

Two other Malaysian kumite exponents in action yesterday, 2005 Manila Games gold medallist L. Kunasilan and Julian Jarvis, finished empty-handed in the men’s under 60kg and over 75kg categories respectively.

Teenager Rayzam hurdles his way to a surprise gold

HURDLER Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian got into the SEA Games squad only because 2005 champion Robani Hassan was injured.

But not content with seeking exposure, the teenager ran the race of his life to not only bag the men’s 110m hurdles gold medal but he also shattered the Games record.

The 19-year-old Sabahan clocked 13.91 to better the previous record of 13.92 set by Thailand’s Suphan Wongsriphuck in Hanoi in 2003.

Suphan won the silver in 13.95 and another Malaysian, Mohd Faiz Mohd, took the bronze in 14.00.

Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian waving the Jalur Gemilang after winning the men’s 110m hurdles.

Faiz was the silver medallist behind Robani in Manila two years ago.

“When I was named as Robani’s replacement, I told myself that I needed to make full use of this rare chance. I dedicate this victory to all the people in Keningau, my hometown in Sabah,” said Rayzam.

“I was not paying attention to the other lanes during the race as my only focus was to stay ahead of the pack. I am happy to have beaten Faiz for the first time, and also the double bonus of finishing ahead of Suphan and breaking his Games record.”

Prior to yesterday’s race, Rayzam had not dipped below 14 seconds, and had a 14.15 personal best set at the national championships in Kangar this year.

Moh Siew Wei failed to make it a double celebration for Malaysia, settling for silver in the defence of her women’s 100m hurdles title.

Siew Wei, who had been out of action for much of the year, clocked 13.61. Indonesian Dedah Erawati won in 13.51.

After the race, Siew Wei, 29, announced that she wished to retire from competitions.

“I was simply not fit enough to match Dedah over the final two hurdles. I would not have competed in Korat but was persuaded to do so by coach Hanapiah Nasir. I am sorry that I let him down,” said the bank executive.

“I guess the time is right for me to quit and concentrate on my career and raise a family. I feel under-appreciated despite having represented the nation for a decade,” added Siew Wei, who suffered from a low red blood cell count and also had several injuries this year.

Meanwhile, both the Malaysian men’s and women’s 4x100m teams delivered the bronze medal.

The men’s quartet of Arif Naim Jeffry, Mohd Noor Imran Hadi, Mohd Latif Nyat and Mohd Zabidi Ghazali finished in 39.90, behind Thailand (38.95, Games record) and Indonesia (39.79).

The women’s team of Noor Hazwinie Norizan, Siti Fatimah Mohamad, Azizah Ibrahim and Norjannah Jamaluddin also did well to earn a podium finish. They clocked 46.38, behind winners Thailand (44.00, Games record) and Vietnam (45.62).

Seagames.tv

Report by a group of student volunteers who maintainthis site seagames.tv

53 medals in total are up for grabs for the 31 various sports to be conducted today

Twelve medals from Athletics, six medals from swimming, one from Waterpolo, four from Archery, three from Billard & Snooker, two from Bowling, five from Cycling, three from Fencing, four from Judo, two from Rugby, two from Weightlifing, five from Bodybuilding and three from Petanque

Today marks the last day for Athletics with the largest haul of medal for today’s event at twelve. Judo marks its entry on the sporting SEA Games calender

Unexpected Gold for Boon Lim.

From Star Sport

NATIONAL walker Teoh Boon Lim returned from a six-year absence to bag the gold in a drama-filled men’s 20km walk outside His Majesty the King’s 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium yesterday.

And as promised, Yuan Yufang who pulled out of the 5,000m race at the half-way mark on Friday to save her energy for yesterday’s 20km walk, delivered gold in the women’s category.

Boon Lim, who turned to coaching after winning the gold in the 2001 KL Games, was persuaded to return to active competition by his wife, Woo Siew Sien, early this year.

Golden comeback: Teoh Boon Lim raises his hands to celebrate after crossing the finish line first in the 20km walk event in Korat yesterday.

And the move paid off handsomely when the 30-year-old father of two boys won the race in 1’30:37.

“This win is a reward for my family,” said Boon Lim. “After six years, I would not have returned without my family’s support. I also need to thank (Yuan) Yufang, who agreed to coach me on my comeback trail.

“After regaining the SEA Games gold, my next target is to win at the ATF (Asian Track and Field) and Asian Games competitions. I feel I can stay strong for another three or four years.”

But two-time champion Mohd Shahrulhaizy Abdul Rahman failed to make it a 1-2 for Malaysia. He was disqualified less than 2km from the finish line.

Despite repeated pleas by the Malaysian coaches and officials to take it easy, Shahrulhaizy, who was already on two cautions, chose to chase down Boon Lim. The 27-year-old managed to close the gap to seven seconds and was gaining pace when he picked up his third booking for floating and was thrown out.

Shahrulhaizy was devastated after choosing to go for personal glory instead of playing it safe for a silver backfired.

He said: “I am sore over the first two cautions. The Indonesian walker (Kristian Tobung) got away from the rest of the pack early on, which forced Boon Lim and myself to quicken our pace.

“Although we caught up, I was already on two cautions and got penalised when I felt that I had the pace to overtake Boon Lim in the final 2km.”

Tobung took the silver on 1’32:57, more than two minutes behind Boon Lim. Another Indonesian, Indra, took bronze in 1’35:45.

The peerless Yufang nailed her sixth SEA Games gold and the fifth in the women’s 20km walk in 1’41:47.

Such was her dominance that silver medallist Darwati of Indonesia trailed in almost one kilometre behind to finish in 1’43:51. Myanmar’s Lar Nve Saw Mar took the bronze in 1’46:28.

“To win in Korat, I had to train seriously and did not even see my baby (Li Xiaomo), who I left with my mother back in Hubei,” said the 31-year-old Yufang, who is a mother of two.

“I could not go for the Games record (of 1’39.25 set in Hanoi 2003) because the heat was unbearable. I have no intention to slow down yet and will continue to compete for as long as I am needed.”

The other Malaysian in the women’s race, 16-year-old debutant Yap Kwee Kee, clocked 2’00:41 to finish last in the six-competitor field.

The 24th SEA Games opened at Stadium in Korat

THE 24th South-east Asian Games was officially declared opened at the His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium in Korat last night in a ceremony that was amazing in more ways than one.

In a glittering festival of light, music and dance, the opening ceremony was divided into eight segments, each with its own 'Amazing' theme.

Let there be light: Thai athlete Udomporn Polsak was given the honour to light up the SEA Games cauldron during the opening ceremony yesterday.

Unlike in the previous days, security was tighter around the vicinity of the main stadium yesterday as a precaution following Tuesday's bombing incident in Southern Thailand.

But that did not stop Thais clad in mostly pink and yellow to pack the newly-built 22,000 capacity stadium to the brim several hours before the show began at 5.30pm (6.30pm Malaysian time).

The two colours symbolise loyalty and respect to King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who celebrated his 80th birthday on Wednesday.

Fittingly, the first segment of the opening ceremony was entitled “The Amazing Great King”, a 10-minute tribute to the longest reigning monarch in the world.

It was followed by performances celebrating “The Amazing E-Saan Wonder” and “The Amazing Glorious City”, highlighting the history and culture of the Isaan (north-east) region and its main city, Korat.

The performances were accompanied by a dazzling laser display and incorporated replicas of colourful ancient temples and gigantic dragon boats.

Glittering show: Dancers performing a cultural dance during the opening ceremony at the 24th Korat SEA Games yesterday.

The highlight of the evening was the fourth segment – “The Amazing Sport Ceremony”.

It began with the march past of the 11 contingents - Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Timor Leste, Vietnam and Thailand.

Pole vaulter Roslinda Samsu, the 2006 Doha Asian Games silver medallist, led the Malaysian contingent, who were resplendent in their orange-coloured Malaysian Tiger tops and black slacks.

After the more than 7,000 athletes and officials had taken their places on the field, Thai Sports Minister Suvit Yodmani, the Games organising chairman, delivered his speech.

The Games was then officially opened by the Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn. It was followed by the raising of the Games flag and the oath-taking ceremony.

Thai female weightlifter Udomporn Polsak, gold medallist at the Athens Olympics, was given the honour to light the Games cauldron in the following “The Amazing Royal Flame” segment.

As soon as the Korat native lit the cauldron, balls of fires rocketed skywards from various points around the stadium, and were accompanied by a dazzling display of fireworks that lit up the Korat skyline.

More than 8,000 students from 35 learning institutions then performed in the beautifully choreographed song and dance sequences for “The Amazing Spirit”, “The Amazing Friendship” and “The Amazing Celebrations” segments.

The segments were held in accordance with the Games' tagline of 'Spirit, Friendship and Celebrations', before the ceremony was brought to an end.

It is the sixth time that Thailand are hosting the Games. A total of 475 gold medals in 43 sports are on offer.

Besides Korat, competition will also be staged in Bangkok and Pattaya until Dec 15.

So far, 43 gold medals have already been distributed ahead of the opening ceremony.

Malaysia, who now have a haul of 2-3-6 from shooting and table tennis, are eyeing a 64-gold haul from involvement in 40 of the 43 sports in the programme.

If the target is met, it would be the national contingent's best achievement outside Malaysia in the biennial event. Malaysia's best was a 61-49-65 haul in Manila 2005.

Sea Games: Blow to Mew Choo

Wong Choong Hann in action

MALAYSIA's hopes on Wong Mew Choo winning a gold medal in the SEA Games badminton competition has taken a severe blow.

The top women's singles shuttler is down with a recurring knee injury and she has been ruled out of the team competition. And her participation in the individual event, where she is the top seed, now hangs in the balance.

The Badminton Association of Malaysia (BAM) general manager, Kenny Goh, said yesterday that the injury to Mew Choo was serious.

Mew Choo: Is down with a recurring knee injury and will be out of the team event beginning on Saturday.

“She is certainly out of the team event (which begins on Saturday). But we will wait for a report from the NSI (National Sports Institute) before making a decision on her participation in the individual event (next week),” he said.

The 24-year-old Mew Choo aggravated the injury en route to a sensational victory at the China Open in Guangzhou last month where she chalked up victories over the world's top players three players from China – Xie Xingfang, Zhang Ning and Zhu Lin.

It was her first ever win over the Olympic champion Zhang Ning and reigning world champion Zhu Lin. And she was also the only second non-China player to win the China Open women's singles title.

Coach Wong Tat Meng said that the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games gold medallist was not in her best condition.

“She was already playing with knee pains during the China Open. It was more painful for her after the tournament. On top of that, her toe nail had also came off,” he said.

“She went on to play in the Hong Kong Open but could not give her best (she was beaten by Salakjit Ponsana of Thailand in the first round).

“I wanted to gauge her condition after the Hong Kong Open. I made her run on the treadmill. She just could not cope. She could hardly put pressure on her leg. She went to see the doctors today and has been told that she needs further treatment.

“This is just unfortunate. Mew Choo was really looking forward to regaining the SEA Games title. We cannot take risks as she has a more important task – the Beijing Olympics.”

Without Mew Choo, Malaysia will be hard-pressed to land a badminton gold medal.

It is difficult for women's top pair Chin Eei Hui-Wong Pei Tty to stamp their mark in Korat because much would depend on the former, who is recovering from back and ankle injuries.

Malaysia have an under-strength men's team spearheaded by Yeoh Kay Bin. It will be an uphill task for them in the company of a full-strength Indonesia, led by Taufik Hidayat.

# unknown Woon pays his way from us to compete in Sea Games