AllSportsBlog

Formula One’s youngest champion - McLAREN’S Lewis Hamilton won in Brazilian Grand Prix

2008-11-02T17:49:00.000-08:00

Lewis Hamilton, the youngest Formula One’s champion with his McLAREN
File Photo taken by S.S.Kanesan/The Star

McLAREN’S Lewis Hamilton roared into the record books as Formula One’s youngest champion yesterday after last-lap drama at the Brazilian Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Briton, needing only a fifth place finish in the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix to become Britain’s first champion since Damon Hill in 1996, pulled it off after entering the last lap in sixth.

With the title seemingly slipping through his fingers for the second year in a row, he had Toyota’s Timo Glock to thank after the German stayed out on dry tyres after the heavens opened.

Hamilton powered past for fifth place as the final corner approached.

Ferrari’s Brazilian Felipe Massa, Hamilton’s sole title rival, won his home race for the second time in three years to chalk up a record 16th constructors’ title for the Italian team.

Hamilton, who missed out agonisingly by a single point to Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen in Brazil last season, ended the 18-race season one point clear of Massa.

Hamilton was aged 23 years and 301 days.

“It’s amazing, I can’t get my breath back,” he said before his father Anthony ushered him away.

Hamilton senior had earlier told ITV television: “What can I say. I can’t say anymore. I really can’t find any words.

“It’s absolutely great and that’s a shame that the crowd are doing this (booing).

“They should be sportsmen. We have the championship and let’s look forward to the next one.” — Reuters

Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won Chinese GP

2008-10-20T07:43:00.000-07:00

SHANGHAI: Britain’s Lewis Hamilton won the Chinese Grand Prix yesterday but was denied the world championship by title rival Felipe Massa, who finished second.

McLaren’s Hamilton led throughout for a straightforward win but he remains just seven points ahead of Massa, taking the championship to a dramatic final race in Brazil next month.

“A fantastic race, the car was a dream to drive for me,” said Hamilton. Read More

The sunset GT race

2008-10-15T07:22:00.000-07:00

Three GT race cars gliding past a beautiful setting sun during the Japan

GT Race in 2008 at Sepang . Since its completion a decade ago,

the world-class circuit has been a magnet for racing buffs from Malaysia

and around the globe. ( click images for larger version )

Calsonic Impulz racing team car driven by B.Treluyer is tow away

after crash during the Japan GT with a beautiful sunset

at Sepang F1 circuit.

Renault's Fernando Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix

2008-10-12T08:18:00.000-07:00

Renault's Fernando Alonso won the Japanese Grand Prix on Sunday in a race that featured a collision between championship rivals Lewis Hamilton and Felipe Massa on the second lap.

Both leading drivers received pit drive-through penalties, and while Ferrari's Massa recovered to finish eighth and earn one championship point near the end of the race, McLaren's Hamilton finished out of the points in 12th.

Hamilton's championship lead was cut from seven to six points with two races remaining this season, while Ferrari moved six points ahead of McLaren in the constructors' standings.

"What can I say, it was a bad day, I'll move on to next week," Hamilton said. "I went wide at turn one, it was a mistake, and then Felipe hit me off, I went on the inside and he broke left and hit me pretty hard.

"I lost one point which I guess is damage limitation." Read More

Chelsea in Malaysia

2008-10-01T01:36:00.000-07:00

Some of the Chelsea's female fans during the friendly match
at Shah Alam stadium recently.

One of the Chelsea players throwing some gift item
to the malaysian fans after the game

Group picture of the Chelsea team before the friendly match
against Malaysia national team.

Chelsea's new star Deco(left) fighting for the ball with
Malaysian defender.

Malaysia's Hairuddin Omar (right) fighting for the ball
against Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard during the
friendly match at Shah Alam stadium recently.

Renault's Fernando Alonso won in Singapore Grand Prix

2008-09-28T17:27:00.000-07:00

SINGAPORE -- Formula One was anything but predictable Sunday, with the Singapore Grand Prix providing a contrast as stark as night and day.

Renault's Fernando Alonso won after starting 15th on the grid in F1's first night race. It was his 20th career victory and first since the Italian Grand Prix last year during his short stint with McLaren.

Nico Rosberg was second for his best Grand Prix finish, giving Williams its best result since the 2005 season. Championship leader Lewis Hamilton of McLaren was third.

Alonso was way back on the grid after a fuel pump failed during qualifying. On Sunday, the Spaniard benefited from an early safety car period that turned the race around.

"After qualifying, our hopes were gone already," Alonso said. "It was nearly over, but it shows that Formula One is unpredictable on Sunday."

Hamilton extended his championship lead to seven points because of a turn of events that cost title rival Felipe Massa of Ferrari any points. The Brazilian led early from the pole, but his race was ruined when he pitted after the end of a safety car period at the start of the 20th lap.Read More

Felipe took pole position at Singapore Grand Prix

2008-09-28T02:02:00.000-07:00

FERRARI’S Felipe Massa stormed to pole position for the inaugural Singapore Grand Prix on Sept 27th 2008, topping the times during qualifying ahead of McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

It was a crucial drive by the Brazilian with front row of the grid likely to be decisive on the bumpy Marina Bay street circuit where overtaking will be possible, but difficult.

His lap of 1:44.801 was 0.664 of a second ahead of the British world championship leader, who is one point in front of his rival in the title race with four Grands Prix left.

Defending world champion Kimi Raikkonen, desperate for a win here to keep alive his slim hopes of retaining his title, was third fastest for Ferrari and BMW Sauber’s Robert Kubica was fourth in the Toro Rosso.

Heikki Kovalainen, in the second McLaren, was fifth ahead of Nick Heidfeld for BMW Sauber.

New kid on the block Sebastian Vettel, winner in Italy earlier this month, was seventh in his Toro Rosso with Timo Glock eighth, Nico Rosberg ninth and Kazuki Nakajima tenth. Read More

The action moment I captured at Merdeka Millennium

2008-09-20T06:35:00.000-07:00

COMBO OF FLYING TYRE....Driver K.Reindler team of
ARC Bratislava's car tyre flew off during the Merdeka
Millennium 12 hour Endurance race at

Sepang F1 circuit. Always click the photos to

view enlargement.

I took this sequence action shots with my Canon 1D Mark llN

with a 70-200mm zoom

the Merdeka Millennium 12 hour Endurance race

2008-09-16T20:09:00.000-07:00

One of the pretty grid girl during the Merdeka
Millennium 12 hour Endurance race at Speng F1 circuit.

Two BMW cars fighting each others during the Merdeka Millennium
12 hour Endurance race at Sepang F1 circuit

Some of the racing car in during the Merdeka Millennium 12 hour

Endurance race at Sepang F1 circuit.

Click on the photos to view enlarements.

These photos taken on Canon Mark llN and 70-200mm zoom lense

Sebastian Vettel the youngest driver to win F1 in Italian Grand Prix

2008-09-15T07:07:00.000-07:00

MONZA (Italy): Sebastian Vettel became the youngest driver to win a Formula One race yesterday after finishing first in a wet Italian Grand Prix from pole position.

The 21-year-old German driver edged Heikki Kovalainen of McLaren by 12.5 seconds on the slick Monza circuit to give Torro Rosso their first ever win.

“For sure the best day of my life,’’ Vettel said. “These pictures, these emotions - I will never forget.’’ Read More

Yana-silver and Feng Tianwei-bronze for the Volswagen woman world cup

2008-09-12T08:28:00.000-07:00

Singapore

's Wang Yue Gu

Singapore

's Wang Yue Gu in action against teammate Feng
Tianwei in third placing playoff which she lost for the woman
world cup at klba stadium.

Singapore

's Feng Tianwei waving to the crowd
after beat her teammate Wang Yue Gu in third
placing playoff

Tie Yana of Hong Kong playing against China's Li Xiaoxia
in the Volswagen woman world cup final at klba stadium
in Kuala Lumpur. Li won 4-0.

Click on the photos to view the high resolution.Photo taken on Canon 1D Mark llN and 300mm telephoto lense.

China’s Li Xiaoxia won the Volkswagen World Cup

2008-09-11T06:56:00.000-07:00

These are some photos that I took during the final of the Volkswagen World Cup women's tournament at the Kuala Lumpur Badminton Stadium in Cheras on Sept 9, 2008.

China’s Li Xiaoxia was ranked third in the world but did not get to play in the Beijing Olympics last month — making way for veteran Wang Nan, who was ranked two rungs below her.

And the agony of having to watch from the sidelines while her team-mates battled their way to a clean sweep of the medals at stake drove her to a crushing win over Hong Kong’s Tie Yana.

The lanky 20-year-old from Wuxi Province continued China’s domination of the game with a superb 11-4, 11-3, 11-3, 14-12 win over Yana.

Yana, the world number 10, was bidding to become the first player from outside China to lift the World Cup title. Keep Reading

China's Li Xiaoxia in action

Hamilton won but demoted

2008-09-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

Starsport reported Formula One was plunged into new controversy yesterday when race stewards at the Belgian Grand Prix stunningly stripped Briton Lewis Hamilton of a brilliant victory.

The stewards' decision, which will be seen by many as part of a conspiracy to rig the results to ensure a close fight in the title race, came long after the race when they hit the 23-year-old McLaren driver with a 25-second penalty.

It meant that he was pushed down to third and the race victory was handed to Ferrari's Brazilian driver Felipe Massa who had struggled to keep pace with Hamilton and defending world champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen.

Critics and paddock observers were swift in their condemnation of a decision that reeked of potential favouritism for Ferrari and seemed entirely unjustified following the most exciting race of the year.

Last year, the sport's ruling body, the International Motoring Federation (FIA) was accused of a 'witch-hunt' against McLaren and this spectre was raised again by their stewards action at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit.

Their decision to punish Hamilton came in relation to a move in the final stages of the race when after attempting to pass Raikkonen, who was leading, he was forced off the circuit and cut out the 'Bus Stop' chicane.

Hamilton recognised immediately that he had done this, and gained an advantage by going ahead of Raikkonen, and so he slowed to allow the Finn to re-pass him and lead as they completed the lap in teeming rain.

When they began racing again, Hamilton passed Raikkonen and went on to win, albeit with several more battles for the lead, before the Finn crashed out. Read More

Belgian Grand Prix-Lewis Hamilton in pole position

2008-09-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Starsports reported that the world championship leader Lewis Hamilton oozed confidence after he secured pole position for the Belgian Grand Prix with a dazzling lap in yesterday's qualifying session.

The 23-year-old Briton, in a McLaren, claimed his fifth pole of this season and the 11th of his career with a perfectly-timed lap to outpace title rival the Ferrari of Brazilian Felipe Massa

Hamilton's supreme lap lifted him clear of Massa by three-tenths of a second and proved he is fully recovered from his sore neck suffered in Spain two weeks ago.

Finland's Heikki Kovlainen in the second McLaren was third fastest and starts ahead of defending champion and compatriot Kimi Raikkonen in the second Ferrari on row two.

German Nick Heidfeld was fifth for BMW Sauber ahead of two times champion Spaniard Fernando Alonso in a Renault.

Australian Mark Webber was seventh for Red Bull ahead of Poland's Robert Kubica in the second BMW, Frenchman Sebastien Bourdais in a Toro Rosso and Sebastian Vettel of Germany in the second Toro Rosso.

Hamilton leads Massa by six points going into the penultimate European race of the year and oozed confidence. “It was a perfect lap, one of my four perfect laps so I was very happy,” he said.

“I made no mistakes and the team made no mistakes so we are looking good,” said Hamilton. Read More

Ferrari's Felipe Massa won in European Grand Prix

2008-08-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

Reported by starsports that Ferrari's Felipe Massa has won the European Grand Prix for his fourth Formula One victory of the season, leading the race wire-to-wire to finish comfortably ahead of championship leader Lewis Hamilton in second.

Massa easily held onto his lead after starting from pole position and finished 5.6 seconds ahead of Hamilton's McLaren on the 5.4 kilometer (3.4 mile) street circuit Sunday. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica was third.

Hamilton kept the lead of the overall standings with 70 points, while Massa moved into second place with 64.

Defending champion Kimi Raikkonen of Ferrari retired from the race on the 45th lap after smoke started coming from the back of his car while he trailed in sixth place.

Massa on pole in Valencia

2008-08-23T19:16:00.000-07:00

Eurosport reports on Sat, 23 Aug.

Brazilian Felipe Massa put Ferrari on pole position for the European Grand Prix in Valencia with McLaren's championship leader Lewis Hamilton alongside on the front row.

The 27-year-old secured his fourth pole of the season, and the 13th of his Formula One career, with a flying lap in the final seconds of Saturday's qualifying.

Hamilton had already clocked 1:39.199 seconds when Massa roared around Formula One's newest street circuit with a time of 1:38.989 to push the Briton into second place.

Poland's Robert Kubica qualified in third place for BMW Sauber with Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen next to him on the second row.

Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, in the second McLaren, and Germany's Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, shared the third row.

Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso qualified 12th in front of his home crowd.

The 27-year-old secured his fourth pole of the season, and the 13th of his Formula One career, with a flying lap in the final seconds of Saturday's qualifying.

Hamilton had already clocked 1:39.199 seconds when Massa roared around Formula One's newest street circuit with a time of 1:38.989 to push the Briton into second place.

Poland's Robert Kubica qualified in third place for BMW Sauber with Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen next to him on the second row.

Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, in the second McLaren, and Germany's Sebastian Vettel for Toro Rosso, shared the third row.

Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso qualified 12th in front of his home crowd.

Reuters

MCLAREN'S Heikki Kovalainen claims first win at Hungarian Grand Prix

2008-08-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Starsports

MCLAREN'S Heikki Kovalainen celebrated a shock maiden win at the Hungarian Grand Prix yesterday after Ferrari's Felipe Massa suffered an engine failure while leading with three laps remaining.

Finn Kovalainen capitalised on Brazilian Massa's misfortune to finish ahead of podium debutant Toyota's Timo Glock of Germany with Massa's team-mate Kimi Raikkonen third.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton stayed top of the championship standings despite a puncture just after the midway stage that saw him finish the race in fifth place behind Renault driver and former team-mate Fernando Alonso of Spain.

Briton Hamilton now holds a five-point lead over Finland's Raikkonen in the championship with Massa dropping into third place, a further three points back. Keep reading

Lewis Hamilton win in Germany Grand Prix

2008-07-21T08:12:00.000-07:00

Starsports

HOCKENHEIM: Briton Lewis Hamilton delivered another massive endorsement of his great potential yesterday when he opened a clear lead in this year’s drivers’ championship by winning the German Grand Prix in thrilling style.

The 23-year-old Englishman, in his McLaren Mercedes-Benz, dominated the early stages and then, after being upset by two safety car interventions and some cautious team strategy, proved he could overtake anyone with a dazzling display of passing moves in the final laps.

“Sorry about that,” said his McLaren team chief Ron Dennis over the radio system later. “We made it much more difficult for you and we made you drive like that in such a great car.”

Hamilton, smiling afterwards, said: “That’s ok, Ron. Don’t worry about it. We did good in the end, so it is ok.” Read More

Cool Hamilton takes pole

2008-07-19T19:13:00.000-07:00

Reports from Starsports

HOCKENHEIM: Lewis Hamilton stayed cool yesterday after clocking the fastest lap in qualifying to grab pole position for today’s German Grand Prix.

The 21-year-old Briton thrilled his fans and the German supporters backing his McLaren Mercedes-Benz team by recording the best time in the final pole-position shootout session.

“That was cool, I’m feeling cool and all is good for us this weekend, but what really matters is the race on Sunday. Heikki (Kovalainen, his team-mate) and I are going to our best to make sure we get the result that counts.”

Hamilton was fastest in both the second and third sessions to prove his superiority on a circuit he enjoys and will be bidding to win two races in succession today for the first time this season.

He currently shares the leadership of the drivers’ world championship with the Ferrari duo of defending champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen and Brazilian Felipe Massa.

His pole today was his third this season and the ninth of his career. Read more

MCLAREN'S Lewis Hamilton won the British Grand Prix

2008-07-06T07:39:00.000-07:00

It was a fantastic win by Britain's Lewis Hamilton who led all the way to the championship after beating teammate MCLAREN'S Heikki Kovalainen who seized the first pole position of his Formula One career at the British Grand Prix yesterday.

Hamilton blew away his rivals to win a wet and chaotic British Grand Prix yesterday and storm back to the top of the Formula One standings.

Hamilton, the first British winner at Silverstone since David Coulthard in 2000, was utterly dominant as he lapped all but second-placed Nick Heidfeld in a BMW Sauber and the Honda of Brazilian Rubens Barrichello.

Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen, had made a mistake on not changing the car tyre made him difficult to control his car on the wet racing track.He managed to make it in fourth position. Keep Reading

Heikki Kovalainen captured his first Formula One pole

2008-07-05T18:56:00.000-07:00

From Starsports

MCLAREN'S Heikki Kovalainen seized the first pole position of his Formula One career at the British Grand Prix yesterday after lapping more than half a second quicker than his rivals.

The 26-year-old Finn roared around the former World War Two airfield in 1:21.049, with Australian Mark Webber second fastest in 1:21.554 in gusty and changeable conditions.

“Well done, you're on pole by a mile,” he was told over the radio after depriving Red Bull's Webber of what would have been his and his team's first pole with the last lap of the session.

Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen, Kovalainen's compatriot, qualified third but ahead of his title rivals.

Britain's Lewis Hamilton was unable to match his 2007 Silverstone pole with fourth place for McLaren after running wide into the gravel on his first flying lap and being told not to overdrive by his race engineer.

Championship leader Felipe Massa was only ninth for Ferrari, the Brazilian's worst showing of the season, with his closest rival Robert Kubica 10th for BMW-Sauber after being sidelined by handling problems.

Massa has 48 points after eight races to Kubica's 46 and Raikkonen's 43 with Hamilton on 38.

“I've been spending time around this Silverstone area for many years of my life, and I know a lot of families and friends around here, so it's great to make the first pole here,” said Kovalainen, whose previous best in qualifying was second place in Turkey in May.

“There is a still a long way to go ... tomorrow is going to be tough and a hard race with the guys around us but I think we have a good opportunity.”

Webber played down Red Bull's first front row start by joking that he had enough fuel on board for only three laps and had put £200 on Kovalainen to win at 23-1.

“It's a bit of a surprise,” he said of his first front row start since qualifying second with Williams at the 2006 Monaco Grand Prix.

Raikkonen, who qualified on pole at the previous race in France only to lose out to Massa when his car's exhaust broke, was happy with his position.

“We are not exactly where we want to be ... but third position is still okay if you look at where the others are in the championship ahead of me,” said last year's British Grand Prix winner.

Kubica failed to complete a flying lap in the final session and was outqualified for the first time this season by German team-mate Nick Heidfeld in fifth place.

Renault's double world champion Fernando Alonso will start sixth while Brazilian team-mate Nelson Piquet built on his first points scoring race in France with his best qualifying to date in seventh place.

Toro Rosso's German Sebastian Vettel, the likely replacement for retiring Briton David Coulthard at Red Bull next year, qualified a strong eighth in his team's best qualifying performance to date.

Coulthard will start 11th in his last home appearance. – continue reading

Felipe Massa and Casey Stoner are the champ for F1 and motorcycle championship.

2008-06-23T05:48:00.000-07:00

StarSports reported that Felipe Massa led a Ferrari one-two to win the French Grand Prix yesterday and take the lead in the Formula One championship for the first time.

Massa’s third victory of the season, and eighth of his career, made the 27-year-old Sao Paulo driver the first Brazilian to lead the standings since the late triple champion Ayrton Senna in 1993.

Team mate Kimi Raikkonen, the world champion who won at Magny-Cours last year, led from pole but was overtaken by Massa just after the halfway mark when his Ferrari slowed with a broken exhaust.

Massa took the chequered flag 17.9 seconds clear of Raikkonen on an overcast and damp afternoon at the circuit in the heart of rural France.

“I didn’t expect that, sometimes you need a little bit of luck,” said Massa after Ferrari’s third one-two of the season.

“The championship is still 100 percent open and we still have many races to go.

“It’s nice but my dream is not to lead the championship, it is to win the championship. And I’m going to do my best to achieve that.”

Raikkonen could not hide his disappointment but, with his car almost stopping in the closing stages, accepted the second place.

“I’ll take the eight points and it looks much better in the championship,” he said.

Italy’s Jarno Trulli gave Toyota, mourning the recent death of former team principal Ove Andersson, their first podium finish since the Australian Grand Prix of April, 2006, after holding off McLaren’s Heikki Kovalainen in a thrilling chase to the line.

The two cars came close to banging wheels on the penultimate lap as Kovalainen tried in vain to pass.

“I don’t think we touched, just wheel-to-wheel like we did in go-karting,” said the Italian, whose last podium finish was with Toyota in May 2005.

“I’d love to fight every race like that.”

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber before yesterday’s race after winning in Canada, finished fifth with Red Bull’s Australian Mark Webber sixth.

Renault’s Brazilian rookie Nelson Piquet finally took his first point in Formula One, at the eighth attempt, with seventh place ahead of team mate and double world champion Fernando Alonso in eighth.

Massa, the fourth driver to lead the championship in the space of four races, now has 48 points to Kubica’s 46 with Raikkonen ending a two-race barren run to move up to third place with 43.

McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton, who had been level with Massa in second place, finished 10th after starting 13th due to a 10-place penalty on the grid incurred for colliding with Raikkonen in the Canadian GP pit lane.

The 23-year-old Briton suffered a further blow when he picked up a drive-through penalty after 13 laps that dropped him from ninth to 16th place.

Honda’s Briton Jenson Button was the only driver to retire from the race. – Reuter

Stoner regains form to win British GP

LONDON: Australia’s world champion Casey Stoner eased to victory at the British Grand Prix yester to win his first race since March.

Stoner, who started on pole for only the second time this season, crossed the line ahead of championship leader Valentino Rossi.

The Italian’s nearest rival, Dani Pedrosa of Spain, climbed from ninth on the grid to finish third.

The Australian, riding a Ducati, never looked in danger of surrendering his advantage and finished 5.789 seconds ahead of Rossi to take his first chequered flag since the season opener in Qatar.

Rossi extended his overall lead over Pedrosa to 11 points while Stoner moved ahead of Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo into third place, 45 points behind the four-times champion after eight races.

Earlier, Briton Scott Redding became the youngest Grand Prix race winner when he won the British 125cc race at the age of 15.

The rookie also recorded the first home win at the Donington Park circuit and ended his country's 451-race wait for a 125cc winner since Chas Mortimer won in Spain in 1973.

Riding in only his eighth grand prix, Redding started on the outside of the front row and steadily chipped away at Andrea Iannone's early lead before passing the Italian with 10 of the 25 laps remaining.

Mike di Meglio of France retained the overall lead after finishing second.

Finland’s Mika Kallio edged out Marco Simoncelli to win the 250cc section and stretch his championship lead over the Italian to eight points. Spain's Alex Debon finished third. – Reuters

Can world champion Kimi Raikkonen and Casey Stoner win?

2008-06-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Today two of the sports stories have captured my attention. The two great motor racing drivers World champion F1 driver Kimi Raikkonen and Casey Stoner both took the pole position in their qualifying round.

World champion Kimi Raikkonen handed Ferrari their 200th pole position in Formula One in a front row sweep for the Italian team at the French Grand Prix yesterday.

Brazilian Felipe Massa, who took pole at Magny-Cours last year, was second fastest to secure the Italian team’s third one-two in qualifying this season.

The pole, the 16th of Raikkonen’s grand prix career, left the Finn perfectly placed to repeat his 2007 victory at the circuit.

Poland’s Robert Kubica, the championship leader for BMW-Sauber after his victory in Canada earlier this month, qualified seventh but will start sixth because of a 10-place penalty imposed on McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton.

Hamilton, who picked up the punishment after crashing into Raikkonen in the Canadian Grand Prix pit lane, qualified third and will start 13th.Read More

World champion Stoner revels in the wet

Reported in DONINGTON (England): World champion Casey Stoner was unstoppable in qualifying at a rain-soaked Donington yesterday to take pole position for today's British Grand Prix.

Stoner, who recorded his first pole of the season at the Catalan Grand Prix two weeks ago before finishing third, set the pace with a time of 1:38.232 on his Ducati, over six-tenths of a second quicker than Yamaha rider Valentino Rossi.

Australia's Chris Vermeulen was third fastest on a Suzuki to make his first appearance on the front row of the grid this season.

The American pair of Nicky Hayden and Colin Edwards make up the second row for the race alongside Italian Andrea Dovizioso. Spain's Dani Pedrosa, Rossi's nearest championship rival who trails by seven points, finished ninth.

The poor weather meant Alvaro Bautista's 250cc provisional pole time set on Friday could not be challenged. Italy's Marco Simoncelli and Hector Barbera of Spain complete the front row while championship leader Mika Kallio was 14th.Read More

The absence of Tiger Woods

2008-06-19T19:06:00.000-07:00

File Pictures of Tiger Woods at the Mines Resort City Kuala Lumpur Golf Tournament.
By S.S.Kanesan/The Star

Tiger Woods, the 32-year-old American nursed a painful knee all week before clinching his 14th major title at the US Open on Monday, winning a 19-hole playoff against compatriot Rocco Mediate.

Moments after securing his 14th major title and his 65th career victory on the PGA Tour, Tiger Woods admitted he had defied doctor’s orders to compete at Torrey Pines in San Diego.

He conceded he needed to follow medical advice for the sake of his long-term career.

“While I am obviously disappointed to have to miss the remainder of the season, I have to do the right thing for my long-term health,” he said

The absence of Tiger Woods for the rest of the 2008 season will be a little like trying to stage the fairytale ball without Cinderella, or the Oscars without the prized statuettes.

In many ways, Tiger Woods is golf and he has almost single-handedly ushered in an era of multi-million dollar endorsements and lucrative appearance money since turning professional in 1996.

Next month's British Open, where Woods is a three-time champion, will proceed at Royal Birkdale without him, as will the Aug. 7-10 PGA Championship where he has triumphed on four occasions.

The game's leading player will also be absent from the Sept. 19-21 Ryder Cup in Louisville, Kentucky where the US will be bidding to end a run of three successive defeats by Europe.

Above all, though, the fans will miss Woods for the rest of the year and this will be translated into plunging television ratings at golf tournaments where he normally plays.

His uncanny ability to produce moments of magic almost on demand when they matter most, followed by his trademark fist pump, provides golfing theatre beyond the reach of his rivals.

Compatriot Kenny Perry, a 10-times PGA Tour winner who played with Woods on the US Ryder Cup team in 2004, accepts that Woods's absence will be sorely felt.

“It's going to be tough for the sponsors and the Tour,” said Perry

# Wounded Tiger survives playoffto claim third US Open Title

Nadal wins in French Open

2008-06-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

PARIS: Rafael Nadal defeated Roger Federer in the French Open final for the third year running yesterday and joined Swedish legend Bjorn Borg as the only man to win four straight titles at Roland Garros.

The Spaniard scored a stunning 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 triumph over the world No.1, taking the last nine games of the match, in stark contrast to the two four-set battles he edged to see off Federer in the two previous finals.

Federer was powerless to stop the barrage of heavy top spin fired at him as he slumped to a demoralising hiding. If he was a rapier, Nadal was a sledgehammer and in that matchup there was only ever going to be one winner.

Nadal has now won all 28 matches he has played at Roland Garros and having just turned 22, he is well on his way to replacing Borg as the greatest claycourt player of all time. He did not drop a set all fortnight. Read More

Nadal vs Federer

Historic win for Robert Kubica

2008-06-09T07:38:00.000-07:00

I was sad to know that two 0f my favourites Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen were out as they crashed into each other.

StarSports reported that Robert Kubica won the Canadian Grand Prix from BMW team-mate Nick Heidfeld as Formula One history was made after Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen had to retire over a bizarre pit lane crash.

The first career win for a Kubica and for BMW-Sauber as an independent team in the sport came 12 months after the first Polish driver in the sport miraculously escaped a horror crash on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve all but unharmed.

Kubica's win over Heidfeld came just minutes ahead of another German-Polish duel, on the football pitch at Euro 2008 in Austria.

If the victory wasn't good enough, Kubica also claimed the world championship lead from fourth place before the race with 42 points. Hamilton and Ferrari's Felipe Massa have 38 each and Raikkonen 35.

“It is sensational,” said BMW motorsport chief Mario Theissen. It was the first win for BMW-Sauber, while Ralf Schumacher won in 2001 for a BMW-powered Williams on the same course. Read More

Kubica ‘thanks’ Hamilton after first Grand Prix win

Lewis takes pole position in Canadian Grand Prix

2008-06-08T02:04:00.000-07:00

Starsports report

MONTREAL: Lewis Hamilton claimed pole position with a scintillating Canadian Grand Prix qualifying performance yesterday.

The world championship leader took his first ever pole in Montreal last year and he was even more impressive this time around, clocking a time over six-tenths of a second faster than that of his nearest rival.

It took some last-gasp dramatics though. Hamilton pulled out all the stops on his final lap to push BMW’s Pole Robert Kubica back into second place.

In bright sunshine and poor track conditions, Kubica just could not quite do enough to deny the 23-year-old Briton his eighth career pole position and his second this season.

Hamilton won from the front in Canada last year and after his electric final qualifying lap of 1:17.886, he will be confident of a repeat come today’s race on the tricky, high-speed Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Fernando Alonso will start third on the grid for Renault and will be joined on the second row by Ferrari’s Finnish world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Nico Rosberg achieved an excellent fifth for Williams with Brazilian Felipe Massa having to settle for sixth in the second Ferrari.Read more

Lewis Hamilton reigns in wet conditions

2008-05-26T06:01:00.000-07:00

DELIGHTED Briton Lewis Hamilton realised a childhood dream yesterday when he won the Monaco Grand Prix and took over as leader in this year's Formula One drivers' world championship.

As a boy, Hamilton, now 23, grew up watching his hero Brazilian Ayrton Senna win the famous race around the streets of the Mediterranean principality six times for McLaren.

In this year's 66th running of the classic event, he did it himself, winning for McLaren in memorable fashion in a race twice interrupted by Safety Car interventions, littered with incidents and accidents and finally shortened by two laps from the usual 78 to 76 to finish within two hours.

Hamilton emerged from the carnage, rain, puddles and chaos ahead of all his rivals to claim the first victory by an Englishman in Monaco since 1969. Read More

It will be Ferrari Felipe Massa vs Raikkonen

2008-05-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Looking from the racing track in Monaco Grand Prix, I think McLaren Lewis Hamilton has dificult to pull a surprise when the Ferrari secured one and two pole position in qualifying at today's race.

Meantime StarSports report:

MONACO: Brazilian Felipe Massa secured pole position for today’s Monaco Grand Prix when he outpaced his Ferrari teammate and defending champion Kimi Raikkonen in the final seconds of yesterday’s qualifying.

The Latin American made nonsense of his declared hatred of the unforgiving street circuit in the Mediterranean principality by producing a sublime effort to outpace not only Raikkonen, but also both McLaren drivers.

Raikkonen ended up second ahead of Briton Lewis Hamilton and his McLaren teammate, Finn Heikki Kovalainen, who was fourth. Read More

It’s China again to win the Thomas Cup

2008-05-19T09:17:00.000-07:00

Starsports reported the towering Xie Zhongbo-Guo Zhengdong were not expected to win a single match in the Thomas Cup Finals. But they were mobbed and hugged by their jubilant team-mates at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta last night.

The duo pulled off a sensational 21-12, 19-21, 21-12 win over the more fancied Lee Jae-jin-Hwang Ji-man to give China the winning point in a 3-1 victory over South Korea in the Thomas Cup final.

It was the third consecutive win in the series and seventh overall for China since they made a winning debut in the world men's team championships in London in 1982.

The other two points for China last night were won by world number one Lin Dan and world number three Bao Chunlai.

China dropped a point in the first doubles through Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng, who were blown away by All-England champions Jung Jae-sung-Lee Yong-dae 23-25, 16-21.

It was dejection for the Koreans as they saw their hopes of winning the Thomas Cup go up in smoke. But still, the Koreans can walk tall for reaching their first-ever final and bowing out fighting in the final.

The first match of the night between Lin Dan and Park Sung-hwan set the tempo for the keenly contested tie.

Lin Dan came charging back after losing the first game tamely at 10-21. With more ferocity in his attacks, a pumped up Lin Dan slowly broke Sung-hwan resolve in the second game, winning 21-18. After winning the decider at 21-8, he celebrated as though China had won the Cup.

He bowed to the spectators, waved repeatedly and even threw his shirt to the delight of the thousands of spectators in the stadium.

“I am so happy to have delivered the first point. There was so much of pressure,” said Lin Dan, who crashed to a tame defeat by Malaysia's Lee Chong Wei in the semi-finals on Friday.

But China's celebration died off briefly in the first doubles when Jae-sung-Yong-dae fought tooth and nail to level the tie, beating Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng 25-23, 21-16.

In the second singles, Lee Hyun-il gave Chunlai a run for his money in the first game. Hyun-il took a comfortable lead at 14-11 and raised hopes on the Korean ability to lift the Cup but Chunlai refused to buckle.

Chunlai fought back, unleashing his deadly smashes to keep pace with the Korea and hung on for a 28-26 win.

In the second game, Chunlai had no problem against the demoralised Hyun-il, romping home for a 21-11 win.

The lanky Chunlai, who had beaten Hyun-il with less effort in their last five meetings, said: “I certainly did not expect the first game to be so close.

“He (hyun-il) put so much pressure on me but after the deuce, I was more determined. I stayed focused and I am very pleased, I was able to overcome the pressure,” he said.

It’s time for others to take over mantle, says Choong Hann

2008-05-18T07:20:00.000-07:00

Malaysia's Koo Kien Keat (Left) and Tan Boon Heong
File pix by S.S Kanesan/TheStar

By Starsport

MALAYSIA needs to pay more attention to grooming the next generation of singles players to take over from the old guards for the Thomas Cup 2010 campaign.

Malaysia’s skipper Wong Choong Hann said that the time had come for him and third singles player Mohd Hafiz Hashim to let the youngsters take over.

The veteran of six Thomas Cup campaigns admitted that Hafiz and him are past their prime and face difficulties in keeping up with some of the younger players in the world, especially the Chinese.

Choong Hann and Hafiz both lost their singles matches to Bao Chunlai and Chen Jin respectively in the 2-3 semi-final defeat to China on Friday.

Malaysia’s top singles player Lee Chong Wei defeated world number one Lin Dan for Malaysia’s solitary point from the singles

“Malaysia have a good succession plan in the doubles. Even when Choong Tan Fook-Lee Wan Wah retire, there are several young pairs who are already good enough to step in and take over

“But unfortunately, the same cannot be said about our junior singles players. They are still not able to compete at the highest level and need a lot of catching up to do. As I would not be around for the next Thomas Cup, the BAM (Badminton Association of Malaysia) need to work fast within the next two years to groom the young talents,” said Choong Hann yesterday.

Among the current batch of national back-up players currently under Rashid Sidek’s charge, Choong Hann picks Thomas Cup reserve Mohd Arif Abdul Latif, national championships runner-up Tan Chun Seang and Chong Wei Feng, who defeated Chen Jin at last month’s Indian Open, as his three likeliest candidates to make it to the senior squad.

Despite being disappointed at Malaysia’s exit in Jakarta, Choong Hann is now looking forward to playing at the Beijing Olympics in August.

Said Choong Hann: “Although I am sad at not being able to leave the Thomas Cup scene with a winners medal, I am proud of this team’s fighting spirit and commitment.

“Our performance in the Thomas Cup proved that the Malaysian players would be among the leading contenders for medals in Beijing.”

Choong Hann and Chong Wei are the two Malaysian men’s singles players who have qualified for the Olympics.

Malaysia lost to China in Thomas Cup semi-final

2008-05-17T03:21:00.000-07:00

Run for the point...
File pix SS Kanesan/TheStar

It was sad to know that Malaysia lost to China in the Thomas Cup semi- final yesterday which was held in Indonesia by 3-2. Wong Chun Hann the most senior player had lost his power and stream and he was defeated. The other losers are double Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong and the third single Mohd Hafiz Hashim

MALAYSIA were the underdogs reported by the StarSport, knowing very well that they needed to win the two doubles matches to have a chance of beating China in the Thomas Cup semi-finals at the Istora Senayan in Jakarta yesterday.

They only managed to get one from the second doubles match after Lee Chong Wei had giving them a rousing start to raise hopes of an upset over the defending champions. And Malaysia ended up as 2-3 losers.

Much was expected of Koo Kien Keat-Tan Boon Heong to press on the advantage Chong Wei had given the team with a comfortable 21-12, 21-14 win over world number one Lin Dan. But the pair lost the first doubles match against Cai Yun-Fu Haifeng at 16-21, 17-21 defeat.Read More

Chong Wei sizzles but Hafiz fizzles out

The Champ is Ferrari Felipe Massa

2008-05-11T17:39:00.000-07:00

Report by StarSports

STANBUL: Brazilian Felipe Massa swept to a hat-trick of Turkish Grand Prix victories from pole position yesterday with another domineering display for Ferrari at Istanbul Park.

The Latin American triumphed by 3.7 seconds ahead of McLaren’s British driver Lewis Hamilton with reigning champion Finn Kimi Raikkonen less than half-a-second behind in third place in the other Ferrari.

Hamilton pulled off the overtaking move of the race on Massa and denied Ferrari a likely one-two despite adopting a three-stop fuel strategy compared to his rival’s two-stopper.

But there was no stopping Massa who controlled the 58-lap race on the 5.338km track which he clearly loves.

Raikkonen’s lead in the championship was cut to seven points with Massa now second, on countback, from last year’s runner-up Hamilton.

Ferrari extended their lead in the Constructors’ championship to 19 points over BMW with McLaren two points further back after Finland’s Heikki Kovalainen paid for an early pit-stop to finish 12th having started second. Read More

Massa sets his sights on Turkish hat-trick

2008-05-10T18:51:00.000-07:00

FERRARI’S Felipe Massa set his sights on a Turkish Grand Prix hat-trick after taking pole position for the third year in a row yesterday.

The Brazilian, winner in 2006 and 2007 at the anti-clockwise Istanbul Park circuit, will have Heikki Kovalainen's McLaren alongside him on the front row today with the Finn coming back strongly from a heavy crash in Spain.

“I think I put together a very good lap,” said Massa of his 12th pole in Formula One, second of the season and Ferrari's 198th since 1950.

“I'm just so happy to come here for the third time with Ferrari and be on pole for the third time. It would be fantastic to repeat that (win) tomorrow.

“I'm looking forward to try and have the best race possible. It won't be easy, we know our competitors are quite strong but close,” added the Brazilian, whose team are chasing their fourth successive win.

Every Turkish Grand Prix so far has been won from pole position.Read More

On the grid: Ferrari look untouchable despite the sport's air of instability

THE anti-clockwise running of the Turkish Grand Prix at the Istanbul Park Circuit today will provide some added pressure to drivers, but Ferrari look likely to remain fast.

But of more concern to me is the pressure brought about by this air of instability that surrounds global motor-sport in general this year. It is a funny, uncertain feeling.

Last Monday the Super Aguri F1 team announced their closure, leaving Formula One with 20 cars starting the Turkish Grand Prix. It is the first time since 2005 that 20 cars will start.

The grapevine also has it that the Scuderia Toro Rosso team are also up for sale and Williams could be under pressure too.

I wouldn't like to see Formula One with just 18 cars or less, not when the overall investment in the sport is sky-rocketing.

More and more countries are building circuits and are willing to invest in the globalisation of motor-sport, but not just in F1 are teams suffering. Read More

Can Lewis Hamilton win in Turkish Grand Prix ?

2008-05-09T20:51:00.000-07:00

StarSports

LEWIS Hamilton admitted on Thursday that he misses the feeling of winning races and intends to return to the top of the podium by triumphing in tomorrow's Turkish Grand Prix.

The 23-year-old Briton said he hopes to end Ferrari's run of success with a McLaren win at the Istanbul Park circuit.

“Obviously, this weekend I want to score a load of points, but more than anything else I want to win,” he said. “I miss that feeling, I miss winning. So that is my plan. Simple as that.”

Hamilton won the season-opening Australian Grand Prix, but has since been unable to stop the Ferrari steamroller from taking charge with three successive victories including two one-two finishes.

“I never approach a race thinking I am the favourite,” said Hamilton, when it was pointed out to him that Ferrari have won the last two Turkish Grands Prix.

“That doesn't make any difference. Felipe has won here the last two years, but we are here to put an end to that I guess. It is the same every weekend. – AFP

They were in KLCC Malaysia?

2008-05-02T19:46:00.000-07:00

This picture was taken few years ago when the Brazil fooball team who were in Malaysia for their final lap of preparations for the World Cup Final in Japan and Korea. The Brazil team will play their last friendly match against Malaysia at National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.

Despite the busy schedule, the Brazilian players ( from left) Anderson Polga, Ronaldinho, Lucio and Admilson took time to visit The KLCC Twin Tower. I went there and found them shopping. They were happy to post a picture in front of the tallest building KLCC twin tower.

Read More on the final day in Korea, click here

Raikkonen leads Ferrari to win in Spanish GP

2008-04-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

BARCELONA: Defending drivers world champion Kimi Raikkonen extended his lead in this year's title race to nine points yesterday when he drove to a comfortable victory in an incident-filled Spanish Grand Prix.

The Finn, driving a Ferrari, led from start to finish, bar the pit stops, to dominate the contest and consolidate his and his team's position as the in-form outfit after four races this season.

Raikkonen's win was his 17th in a career often beset by bad luck in earlier times and endorsed the wideheld feeling that he has happier at Ferrari and in the form of his life.

His Ferrari team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa drove a solid race to finish second, after starting third on the grid, ahead of Briton Lewis Hamilton in a McLaren-Mercedes. Read More

Kimi Raikkonen takes pole ahead of Alonso, Can he win?

2008-04-26T20:08:00.001-07:00

BARCELONA: Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen denied home hero Fernando Alonso a stunning Spanish Grand Prix pole position in April 26, 2008 yesterday to set himself up as favourite for today's race.

The 115,000-strong crowd gave Alonso a standing ovation after Renault's double world champion pulled out all the stops at the Circuit de Catalunya only to be pipped by the Finn in the dying seconds by 0.091.

The pole was championship leader Raikkonen's first of the season and the 15th of his Formula One career.

It was also the first time the sport has had two champions together on the front row since Ferrari's Michael Schumacher retired in 2006.Read More

Stay tune and find out today race in Spanish Grand Prix.

Raikkonen fastest in practice for Spanish Grand Prix

2008-04-25T20:15:00.000-07:00

BARCELONA: Ferrari’s world champion Kimi Raikkonen made a strong start to Formula One’s European season by dominating the Spanish Grand Prix free practice on April 25, 2008 yesterday.

The Finn, championship leader after the opening three long-haul races, set a best time of 1:20.649 in the morning and then topped the afternoon timesheets in 1:21.935.

His Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, who scored his first points of the season when he won the previous race in Bahrain, was second fastest on a sunny morning but only fifth in the later session. Read More

Hamilton abuse prompts anti-racism campaign

BARCELONA: Formula One's governing body launched an anti-racism campaign on Thursday at the Spanish Grand Prix circuit where McLaren's Lewis Hamilton was abused in February.

“With the support of the Formula One community, the launch of the EveryRace campaign sends a message that discrimination and prejudice can have no place in sport or society,” The International Auto-mobile Federation (FIA) said in a statement.Read More

Kimi Raikkonen will win in Spanish Grand Prix ?

2008-04-24T19:01:00.000-07:00

World champion Kimi Raikkonen believes his Ferrari team are set to cement their recent resurgence by winning this weekend's Spanish Grand Prix.

Not only the Kimi Raikkonen and his team-mate Brazilian Felipe Massa to stand good chance of winning, but they know McLaren, for whom Briton Lewis Hamilton won in Melbourne, are set to fight back.

That's why it's very important to collect as many points as possible in every single race. We have so far to go for we win the title

Raikkonen is on 19 points with Nick Heidfeld on 16 and Hamilton on 14. Keep reading

Raikkonen and Massa are the favourites.

2008-04-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

The Star Sports reported that former Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher tips Ferrari drivers Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa as favourites to win next week's Spanish Grand Prix.

The former Ferrari driver said on his homepage after the end of test drives in Barcelona yesterday evening the Italian team had a slight advantage going into the race on April 27.

Three teams - Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes and BMW-Sauber - would be fighting for the championship, which “is good for the sport,” he said.

Schumacher, 39, a seven-time world champion, has been acting as adviser for Ferrari since retiring at the end of the 2006 season.

Yesterday, he took part in test drives in Ferrari's F2008 car at the Circuit de Catalunya near Barcelona.

The Spanish Grand Prix will be the fourth of the season. Raikkonen leads the drivers' championship on 19 points, ahead of Nick Heidfeld (BMW) on 16 and Lewis Hamilton (McLaren Mercedes) on 14.

BMW (30) lead the constructors' championship, ahead of Ferrari (29) and McLaren Mercedes (28).

The Champ is Ferrari Felipe Massa

2008-04-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Massa claims first win of the season in Ferrari 1-2 finish

Brazilian Felipe Massa stormed to victory here yesterday for his second successive victory in the Bahrain Grand Prix and answer his mounting bank of critics as his Ferrari team celebrated a comfortable one-two with Kimi Raikkonen finishing second.

The 26-year-old Latin American, who had failed to score a point after an error-strewn performance in both opening races, came home as a comfortable winner ahead of his team-mate defending drivers’ world champion Finn Rakkkonen.

They came home first and second ahead of third-placed Pole Robert Kubica of BMW, who had started from the first pole position of his career, and his team-mate German Nick Heidfeld.Read more from Star Sports

It’s all my fault, I let down McLaren, says Hamilton

who can be the winner of this Bahran Grand Prix Sunday?

2008-04-05T19:43:00.000-07:00

McLaren-Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica or Ferrari’s Felipe Massa as they are the top three pole position.

Star report

POLAND'S Robert Kubica took his and BMW Sauber's first pole position at the Bahrain Grand Prix yesterday.

The 23-year-old from Krakow denied Ferrari's Brazilian Felipe Massa the top spot with a final flying lap of 1:33.096 right at the end of qualifying at the Sakhir desert circuit.

“Fantastic Robert, first pole for our team. Thank you,” said an emotional team boss Mario Theissen over the car radio as he slowed down.

Brazilian Massa, who won from pole position in Bahrain last year but is still without a point after two races, had dominated Friday's practice and will be looking to revive his title challenge today.

McLaren's 23-year-old championship leader Lewis Hamilton was third fastest and will share the second row with Ferrari's world champion Kimi Raikkonen.

Briton Hamilton leads Raikkonen and BMW Sauber's German Nick Heidfeld by three points in the championship.

Kubica's pole followed his front row start in the Australian season-opener and second place in Malaysia.

The first and only Pole to race in Formula One flat-spotted a tyre in his second qualifying run of the final third phase and had suffered a lot of vibration, making the car hard to handle.

“The car was pulling to one side so I was not expecting after this mistake to be on pole,” he said. “But of course I am very happy.”

BMW, overall runners-up last year after McLaren were stripped of all their points for a spying controversy, have set a target of a first race win in 2008 but champions Ferrari and McLaren have remained ahead of the rest so far.

Kubica's pole was the first by a driver from outside those two teams since Spaniard Fernando Alonso for Renault in China in October 2006.

Massa refused to be downcast: “In a way, I'm happy with second,” he said. “I was a little bit unlucky with the traffic in Q3 and was always behind cars and couldn't do very clean laps ... I think we can be very strong tomorrow.”

Hamilton was using the spare chassis after a big crash on Friday and he thanked his team for working through the night to get it ready.

“We would prefer to be on pole but the team have done a great job to recover from the accident, they stayed up all night ... It (the car) was great today,” he said. – Reuters

Times
01 R. Kubica BMW 1:33.096
02 F. Massa Ferrari 1:33.123
03 L. Hamilton McLaren 1:33.292
04 K. Räikkönen Ferrari 1:33.418
05 H. Kovalainen McLaren 1:33.488
06 N. Heidfeld BMW 1:33.737
07 J. Trulli Toyota 1:33.994
08 N. Rosberg Williams 1:34.015
09 J. Button Honda 1:35.057
10 F. Alonso Renault 1:35.115
11 M. Webber Red Bull 1:32.371
12 R. Barrichello Honda 1:32.508
13 T. Glock Toyota 1:32.528
14 N. Piquet jr. Renault 1:32.790
15 S. Bourdais Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:32.915
16 K. Nakajima Williams 1:32.943
17 D. Coulthard Red Bull 1:33.433
18 G. Fisichella Force India F1 1:33.501
19 S. Vettel Scuderia Toro Rosso 1:33.501
20 A. Sutil Force India F1 1:33.845
21 A. Davidson Super Aguri 1:34.140
22 T. Sato Super Aguri 1:35.725

Kimi Raikkonen wins the Malaysian Grand Prix

2008-03-24T07:24:00.000-07:00

Part of the crowd at watching the Malaysian Grand Prix
Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland
won the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula
One circuit yesterday..(23/03/08/ S.S.KANESAN/The Star)

Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland
speed his way to win the Malaysian Grand Prix at the
Sepang Formula One circuit yesterday..

Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of Finland
with the winning tropy while second place BMW Sauber
Formula One driver Robert Kubica of Poland looks on after
the Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula One
circuit yesterday. Raikkonen won the race, Kubiaca
finished second and Kovalainen was third.
(23/03/08/ S.S.KANESAN/The Star)

Ferrari Formula One driver Kimi Raikkonen of
Finland raises his fists after winning the Malaysian
Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula One circuit
(23/03/08/ S.S.KANESAN/TheStar)

Star report

REIGNING world champion Kimi Raikkonen could not have chosen a better venue to spark a fight-back for Ferrari in the F1 World Championships.

It was at the Sepang F1 Circuit in 2003 where Raikkonen bagged his first Grand Prix victory and the Finn repeated the feat by winning the 10th edition of the Petronas Malaysian F1 Grand Prix in commanding fashion yesterday.

While Raikkonen romped to a trouble-free victory, winning the 56-lap race by nearly 20 seconds, his McLaren rival, Lewis Hamilton, endured a torrid afternoon.

Hamilton, winner of the season-opening Australian GP last week, finished in fifth place after a pit-stop mistake by his crew delayed him by nearly 20 seconds.

Polish driver Robert Kubica gave BMW Sauber their first ever podium finish in Sepang in second place behind Raikkonen. He finished the race in 1'31:38.155 and it was his career best performance in F1 thus far.

Heikki Kovalainen restored some pride for the battered McLaren when he fought his way to third place in 1'31:57.005 after starting from eighth on the grid.

But the day certainly belonged to his more illustrious Finnish compatriot, who was in a class of his own.

Raikkonen took the lead after the first pit stop from Brazilian team-mate Felipe Massa, who later spun off on the 30th lap.

Malaysia F1 Grand Prix Pratice Session-Day 2

2008-03-22T19:55:00.000-07:00

Ferrari Formula One drivers Felipe Massa of Brazil,
left, and Kimi Raikkonen of Finland, waves to the
media after the qualifying session for the Malaysian
Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula One circuit yesterday.

Brazilian Formula One driver Felipe Massa
speed to his Ferrari during the qualifying
session of the Malaysian Formula One Grand
Prix at the Sepang International Racing Circuit
in Sepang yesterday.. Brazilian Felipe Massa will
start from pole position in the Malaysian Grand
Prix after posting the fastest time in final qualifying .

Posing for a photograph for remembrance

Local F1 promoters with F1 fans at Sepang F1 Circuit.

The British couple with British and Honda flag to support
the Honda F1 driver Jenson Button at the Sepang Circuit.

Crowd watching the second day of the
Malaysian Grand Prix at sepang f1 Circuit.

Formula 1: Massa in pole position

Star reports

AFTER a woeful performance in Melbourne last week, Ferrari showed their true potential when both cars made the front row of the Petronas F1 Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang F1 Circuit yesterday.

Brazilian Felipe Massa took pole ahead of his Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen, the 10th in his F1 career and also the second consecutive year he will start from front row at Sepang. Read more

Malaysia F1 Grand Prix Pratice Session

2008-03-21T20:10:00.000-07:00

one of the female photographer which she
follow all the grand prix in the world.

Some of the elderly fans with the flag at sepang f1 circuit.

Ferrari F1 team driver Kimi Reikonen of
Finland powers his car during the second timed

practice session for the Malaysian Grand Prix
at the Sepang Formula One circuit yesterday

F1McLaren Mercedes Formula One driver
Lewis Hamilton of Great Britain in action during
the second timed practice session for the
Malaysian Grand Prix at the Sepang Formula One
circuit yesterday.

Malaysian F1 Grand Prix results

Friday’s free practice times

First session: 1. Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 1:35.392, 2. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 1:36.459, 3. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren 1:36.556, 4. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams 1:36.578, 5. Lewis Hamilton (Gbr) McLaren 1:36.626,

6. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 1:37.022, 7. Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 1:37.034, 8. Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 1:37.218, 9. Jenson Button (Gbr) Honda 1:37.282, 10. Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 1:37.540, 11. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 1:37.649;

12. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams 1:37.649, 13. Rubens Barrichello (Bra) Honda 1:37.776, 14. Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 1:37.782, 15. Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso 1:38.219, 16. David Coulthard (Gbr) Red Bull 1:38.232, 17. Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 1:38.707, 18. Sebastian Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso 1:38.798, 19. Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 1:39.046, 20. Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 1:40.178, 21. Anthony Davidson (Gbr) Super Aguri 1:40.351, 22. Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 1:41.269.

Second session: 1. Hamilton 1:35.055, 2. Massa 1:35.206, 3. Raikkonen 1:35.428, 4. Button 1:36.037, 5. Vettel 1:36.474,

6. Trulli 1:36.493, 7. Kovalainen 1:36.512, 8. Kubica 1:36.671, 9. Fisichella 1:36.756, 10. Nakajima 1:36.838, 11. Barrichello 1:36.879, 12. Rosberg 1:36.908, 13. Heidfeld 1:37.106, 14. Alonso 1:37.328, 15. Piquet Jr 1:37.331, 16. Webber 1:37.346, 17. Glock 1:37.512, 18. Sutil 1:37.614, 19. Sato 1:39.021, 20. Davidson 1:39.361.

Not classified: Bourdais and Coulthard.

Australian Grand Prix

2008-03-18T21:27:00.000-07:00

Australian Grand Prix results

58 LAPS (307.574KM): 1. Lewis Hamilton (Bri) McLaren-Mercedes 1' 34: 50.616, 2. Nick Heidfeld (Ger) BMW Sauber 5.478 (behind), 3. Nico Rosberg (Ger) Williams-BMW 8.163, 4. Fernando Alonso (Spa) Renault 17.181, 5. Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 18.014, 6. Kazuki Nakajima (Jpn) Williams-BMW one lap behind, 7. Sebastien Bourdais (Fra) Toro Rosso 3 laps, 8. Kimi Raikkonen (Fin) Ferrari 5 laps.

Retirements: Robert Kubica (Pol) BMW Sauber 47 laps completed, Timo Glock (Ger) Toyota 43 laps, Takuma Sato (Jpn) Super Aguri 32 laps, Nelson Piquet Jr (Bra) Renault 30 laps, Felipe Massa (Bra) Ferrari 29 laps, David Coulthard (Bri) Red Bull 25 laps, Jarno Trulli (Ita) Toyota 19 laps, Adrian Sutil (Ger) Force India 8 laps, Sebastian Vettel (Ger) Toro Rosso) 0 lap, Jenson Button (Bri) Honda 0 lap, Mark Webber (Aus) Red Bull 0 lap, Giancarlo Fisichella (Ita) Force India 0 lap, Anthony Davidson (Bri) Super Aguri 0 lap.

Fastest lap: Heikki Kovalainen (Fin) McLaren-Mercedes 1:27.418 (lap 43)

Note: Rubens Barrichello (Bra)/Honda) excluded for not stopping at red lights in leaving pits.

Drivers standings: 1. Hamilton 10 pts, 2. Heidfeld 8, 3. Rosberg 6, 4. Alonso 5, 5. Kovalainen 4, 6. Nakajima 3, 7. Bourdais 2, 8. Raikkonen 1.

Constructors standings: 1. McLaren 14 pts, 2. Williams 9, 3. BMW Sauber 8, 4. Renault 5, 5. Toro Rossi 2, 6. Ferrari 1.

Tiger Woods

2008-02-16T19:14:00.001-08:00

Tiger Woods in action

Tiger: I’m glad I won even without my favourite driver

2008-02-10T07:29:00.001-08:00

Dubai : As if to pile on the agony for his rivals on either side of the Atlantic, Tiger Woods let slip he achieved his seventh victory in eight outings without the aid of his favourite driver.

“I didn't tell you guys this but I broke my driver on the first tee of the pro-am on Wednesday,” Woods said after beating Germany's Martin Kaymer by one stroke to win the Dubai Desert Classic on Sunday Feb 4, 2008.

“I cracked the face so I had to use my backup, which I didn't like too much. As soon as the wind started blowing I had a hard time controlling it because it kept spinning too much. I'm just happy to get a win somehow.”

Despite using a substitute driver in the European Tour event held at the Emirates Golf Club, Woods produced yet another extraordinary performance as a best of the week back nine of 31 gave him a closing seven-under 65 and a 14-under total of 274.

One week after romping to an eight-stroke win at the Buick Invitational in California, it seemed as though the 32-year-old American may be sending a message to opponents everywhere as eyes slowly begin to focus on the first major of the year at the US Masters in April.

Woods was quick to dispel that theory.

“I don't know about messages,” he said. “I'm just happy about winning two tournaments.”

Asked on Wednesday if churning out victories was the most important thing for him, family-man Woods replied: “Winning golf tournaments has never been my number one priority, no.”

Once the follow-up question came with the apologetic rider of, 'sorry, after your family?', Woods replied to howls of laughter: “There you go”.

Nonetheless, his rivals on each side of the Atlantic can breathe a sigh of relief in the knowledge the 13-time major champion is now taking a break to spend two weeks in the company of wife Elin and young daughter Sam.

His next golfing mission is due to be the WGC-Accenture Match Play in Tucson, Arizona starting on Feb 20. –

Tiger Woods

2008-02-04T05:19:00.000-08:00

Ohh! TIGER WOODS BLAST THE BALL AT THE
15 HOLE AT THE MINES RESORT CITY.
TIGER WOODS WON THE WORLD CUP

Tiger Woods

2008-02-02T23:52:00.001-08:00

Who is this gentleman.....It is Tiger Woods. He was
at the world cup Golf tournament recently in Malaysia
He won the trophy.

Shooting golf in an unusual way.

2008-01-09T08:52:00.001-08:00

SHADOW CHASTER........ Buggies going by the 14th hole
are reflected in the pond as Thailand’s Aree Song
Wong luekiet and Germany’s Martina Eberl and Spain’s
Marta Prieto prepare to putt at the Saujana Golf and Country Club

Shooting golf in an unusual way.

2007-12-16T00:04:00.000-08:00

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

Elaine kicks up a gold

2007-12-15T00:29:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-14T00:18:00.001-08:00

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

2007-12-11T08:49:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-10T17:04:00.000-08:00

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.

2007-12-10T16:39:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-07T23:29:00.000-08:00

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

2007-12-05T06:19:00.000-08:00

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

Malaysia Hockey SEA Games run up

2007-11-18T22:34:00.001-08:00

The Star report

KUALA LUMPUR: Penalty corner drag specialist Zulkifli Rejab is down injured and it may dash his dream to play in the Champions Trophy hockey tournament.

The 22-year-old Kedahan injured his leg in training and he has not trained for the last few days. The injury could also rule him out of the SEA Games next month.

National coach Sarjit Singh said: “We will decide on his selection once the doctor has given his verdict. I have been told that the injury could take up to three weeks to heal. Zulkifli has gone to the hospital for some tests and they will inform us on Monday of the results.”

Sarjit confirmed that the MHF selection committee would meet tomorrow night to pick the team for the Champions Trophy, which will be played at the National Hockey Stadium in Bukit Jalil from Nov 29-Dec 9.

He added that the Malaysian Hockey Federation could name 22 players and then drop two after the friendly series against China from Nov 23-26.

“At the moment, we have 30 players in training,” he said.

Those who failed to make the squad for the Champions Trophy will be in the team for the SEA Games competition, which will be played in Bangkok. They will be joined by several players form the Champions Trophy squad. >>More

# Woman shuttlers will deliver two golds

Sea Games from Vietnam

2007-11-17T00:12:00.000-08:00

WHALE OF A TIME..........JIMMY WONG OF SABAH SPLASHING
HIS WAY IN 200M BUTTRERFLY

VIETNAM DEFENDER NGUYEN DUC THANG (LEFT)
CLEAR THE BALL AGAINST MALAYSIAN STRIKER
AZMAN ADNAN DURING MATCH AT SENAYAN
STADIUM. MALAYSIA WON 1-0.

Female fencers eye two gold medals

Vietnamese female fencers have set to win two gold medals at the forthcoming 24th SEA Games in Thailand in December as they did at the 23rd SEA Games.

Phung Le Quang, head of the Fencing Division, was quoted by the Vietnam News Agency as saying that high hopes for gold medals were pinned on sabre.

The sabre is now dominated by Nguyen Thi Le Dung, Nguyen Thi Hoai Thu, and Nguyen Thi Thuy Chung, who are highly rated fencers in Southeast Asia.

At the 23rd SEA Games, Vietnamese sabre fencers brought home two gold medals in individual and team events. To help them prepare for the 24th SEA Games, key sabre players have participated in the Grand Prix China, the Grand Prix Hanoi, the Asian Championship in China and the Asian Junior Tournament in Kazakhstan.

Mr Quang also noted that the chance for gold medal in sabre at the 24th SEA Games was shared equally between both individual and team events.

The Vietnamese fencer team thrashed Thailand 45-14 at the Women’s Sabre Grand Prix 2006.

Team Singapore Gets Ready For the 24th SEA Games

2007-11-14T05:27:00.000-08:00

MALAYSIA'S FADZLUN ABAS (LEFT/YELLOW) AND TEAMMATE
ARUNA SANTAPAN TRYING TO PUT THE BALL IN THE NET WHILE
TWO SINGAPORE PLAYERS DAWN TAY AND KOH KAI LING BLOCK
THE SHOTS DURING THE ASIAN YOUTH NETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP
AT JUARA STADIUM IN BUKIT KIARA. MALAYSIA BEAT SINGAPORE 44-42.

WET WEATHER................THAILAND'S JIRACHAI LINGLOM
(FAR RIGHT) LEADING THE REST TO WIN THE GOLD MEDAL
IN 400M HURDLES.

It's SEA Games' time. And Team Singapore is all geared up for the action in Thailand from 6 - 15 December. Following the opening ceremony on 6 December, the competition is expected to heat up among athletes from the 11 countries participating in this year's event.

A total of 360 Team Singapore athletes have earned the selectors' nod for December's SEA Games in Thailand, including many youth athletes from sports like sailing, swimming and gymnastics. Meanwhile, in a boost to our SEA Games chances, athletes from sports such as table tennis and fencing tasted recent success.

In all, 43 sports will be featured in this year's SEA Games. Singapore's athletes will be going all out for a good showing before the closing ceremony on 15 December. It will be a challenge but they will want to match or exceed the 42 gold medals that Team Singapore won at the Manila SEA Games in 2005. More>>

# TeamSingapore.Com

# Singaporeathelatics.com

SEA GAMES / PREPARATIONS

2007-11-13T22:47:00.000-08:00

CHONLATHORN VORATHAMRONG OF THAILAND
SPLASHING HERS WAY IN 100M BACKSTROKE

TORWAI SETHSOTHORN OF THAILAND SPLASHING
HIS WAY IN THE 400M FREESTYLE.

Thailand seeking 150 golds at Korat Games

KITTIPONG THONGSOMBAT

Thailand expect to win up to 150 gold medals at next month's SEA Games in Nakhon Ratchasima, according to a poll conducted by the national athletes' preparation committee.

The committee, chaired by Adm Suravudh Maharom, has appraised Thailand's chances in the December 6-15 Games with 485 golds up for grabs.

''We expect to finish on the top of the medal table with about 146-150 gold medals,'' Suravudh said.

''Our main rivals are Vietnam, Indonesia and Malaysia respectively.''

In the last Games in the Philippines in 2005, Thailand finished second with 87 golds, 78 silvers and 118 bronzes. The Kingdom won 26 golds fewer than the hosts.

Suravudh is worried about the men's football team who are seeking a record eighth straight title. He said he was informed that the squad were not well-prepared. ''I talked to football officials who said our team's preparations may not be good enough,'' said Suravudh.

''Vietnam are tipped to be our opponents in the final. It would be tough for us to win gold this time.''

In 2005, Thailand beat Vietnam 3-0 to win their seventh crown in a row. The Thais also defeated the Vietnamese in the 2003 final in Hanoi.

Among the golds Thailand hope to win in the Nakhon Ratchasima Games are 15 in athletics, 12 in shooting, 10 in amateur boxing, 10 in Muay Thai, eight in aquatic sports, seven in gymnastics, seven in rowing and six in sepak takraw.

# Young Thais should unfold exciting results

# Boxing

History - Southeast Asian Games

2007-11-10T04:55:00.001-08:00

The Southeast Asian Games owes its origins to the Southeast Asian Peninsular Games or SEAP Games.
On May 22, 1958, delegates from the countries in Southeast Asian peninsula attending the 3rd Asian Games in Tokyo, Japan had a meeting and agreed to establish a sport organization.

The SEAP Games was conceptualized by Laung Sukhumnaipradit, then Vice-President of the Thailand Olympic Committee. The proposed rationale was that a regional sports event will help promote cooperation, understanding and relations among countries in the Southeast Asian region.

Thailand, Burma (now Myanmar), Malaya (now Malaysia), Laos, South Vietnam and Cambodia (with Singapore included thereafter) were the founding members. These countries agreed to hold the Games biannually. The SEAP Games Federation Committee was formed.

The first SEAP Games were held in Bangkok from 12-17 December, 1959 comprising more than 527 athletes and officials from Thailand, Burma, Malaysia, Singapore, South Vietnam and Laos participating in 12 sports.

At the 8th SEAP Games in 1975, the SEAP Federation considered the inclusion of Indonesia and the Philippines. The two countries were formally admitted in 1977, the same year when SEAP Federation changed their name to Southeast Asian Games Federation (SEAGF), and the games were known as the Southeast Asian Games. Brunei was admitted at the 10th SEA Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, and East Timor at the 22nd SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.

The last Southeast Asian Games (23rd SEA Games) were held in the Philippines from 27 November to December 2005. The Philippines hosted the event for the third time.

# Indonesia to register 517 athletes for SEA Games 2007

# Can Indonesia bounce back in SEA Games?

Run-up to the Korat Sea Games

2007-11-07T17:56:00.001-08:00

NAtional Sprinter G.Shanthi finish in 100M Jakarta SEA Games.

National Weight Lifter Rozdimand Harun

Goh Yi We in action

This was my second posting and I am sorry I have not update my blog as I was busy preparing for Deepavali. As I was assigned to cover Korat SEA Games in Thailand next month together with Glenn Guan, perhaps it was wise to post some of my pictures taken in the last Sea Games.

The 24^th SEA games will be held in Korat Thailand, December 6 -15, 2007 at three
different venues. And the centre of action will be in Korat, the third largest city in Thailand. Bangkok and Pattaya will also play hosts.

The 1030 strong contingent is the biggest include 748 athletes who will compete in 41 of the 43 sports in the programme.

With more events staged this time, the atheletes are expected to rake in a better medal haul than they did in Manila two years ago. Then Malaysia won 61 gold medals and it was the best ever performance in a foreign country. This time there are 485 gold medals at stake. And I wonder how many gold medals that our players can get this time.

Happy Deepavali to my Indian friends!

Official Website : Korat SEA Games2007

SEA Games Updates:

# Women hold key to golden harvest in Korat

# Lee Wei boost for paddlers but silver chase remains tough

# M'sians protest, football fixture fixed

My personal favourite photos

2007-10-30T06:31:00.000-07:00

Marion Jones crosses the 100 meter finish line to win the gold medal at the Olympics in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 23, 2000. She won five medals at the 2000 Olympics.

The U.S. Olympic Team once dubbed Marion Jones "the world's fastest mom," And these two pictures are my personal favourite photos.

I have a nice and remarkable memory of the coverage especially the moment that I captured the expression Marion Jones for The Star. The camera used was the outdated Canon EOS D2000 model fitted with the EF 300mm F/2.8L USM lens. I used a shutter speed of 1/250 sec. at F/2.8 to capture the moment of her victory.

And now I am vary sad to know the Olympic track and field star Marion Jones has pleaded guilty to lying to federal investigators about using steroids.

The three-time Olympic gold medalist also announced her retirement from the sport.

# Marion Jones Admits to Steroid Use

# Listen Here

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•	BMW’s Kubica comes in eighth despite gear box snag
•	Jenson hopes to hit right button after poor start
•	Mansell says Hamilton is not on par with Woods
•	Pit Stop