Gebrselassie fails in Olympics quest

Former marathon world record holder Haile Gebrselassie will not compete in the London Olympics after failing to a place in Ethiopia's marathon team.

Gebrselassie won gold in the 10,000m in Atlanta and Sydney before switching his attention to the marathon in 2004, going on to win the Berlin event in four consecutive years, including setting a new world record time of 2:03:59 in 2008.
He had hoped to compete in the London Olympics but his time of 2:08:17 in Tokyo was some way below his best and with eighteen of his compatriots having clocked faster times he has had to give up on his dream.
"Many Ethiopian athletes run 2:04 and Haile cannot run that any more. He has given up on the Olympics with pain in his heart," said manager Jos Hermans.
Although he will miss out on the Olympics, Gebrselassie intends to run long distance and will compete in the Great Manchester Run over 10,000m in May.
"Although I will not be taking part in the Olympic marathon I am still enjoying my athletics career and looking forward to coming to Manchester again and to a course which I love," he confirmed before revealing he will run his last 10k race in the Netherlands next month.
"This will be my last 10,000 metres race. But I still feel good. There is only a small difference compared to 2011. I am just a bit slower now," he added.

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Brits stay on course

 Smith, Ogogo and Baister close on Olympic spots

Three British boxers took a step closer to reaching the London Olympics with victories in the final qualifying tournament in Trabzon, Turkey. Liverpool light-heavyweight Callum Smith is now two wins away from claiming a place at the Games after an 18-8 success over Bosko Draskovic of Montenegro. Middleweight Anthony Ogogo beat Macedonia's Fatlum Zuta 18-5. And Sunderland heavyweight Warren Baister - who must win his weight category to qualify - reached the last eight with an 18-17 win over Aboulaye Diane of France.

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Final fling for pair

Woodbridge misses out after finishing 16th in his semi-final

British duo Jamie Cooke and Sam Weale have qualified for the men's final at the third Modern Pentathlon World Cup of the year in Hungary.

World junior champion Cooke progressed safely from semi-final B at the competition in Szazhalombatta and was joined in the final by Beijing 2008 Olympian Weale, who qualified from semi-final C. A top-12 spot was needed in each of the three semi-finals to book a berth in Sunday's final. Cooke was 13th going into the run/shoot, but clocked a time of 10:49.41 - the fifth best - to finish in 11th place. The news was not so good for Nick Woodbridge, however, as he ended up in 16th. Weale was just outside the qualification berths in joint 15th going into the run/shoot but his time of 10:46.41 was fourth quickest in his semi, pushing him up to seventh place overall. Mhairi Spence and Samantha Murray will contest the women's final on Saturday after qualifying in first and second place in their semi-final on Thursday.

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Smith makes the grade

Londoner eases past qualifying mark at the European Championships

Zoe Smith put in a commanding performance at the European Weightlifting Championships in Turkey to pass the Olympic qualifying A standard with ease.

The Greenwich-born athlete, 17, lifted 92kg in the snatch and 116kg in the clean and jerk to register a superb total of 208kg, well above the 196kg minimum required.

It was enough to earn Smith fourth place in the women's 58kg category - just outside the medal places and only seven kilograms behind the overall winner.

Her total eclipsed the 204kg she registered at November's World Weightlifting Championships in Paris, where she set two personal bests and broke more than a dozen British records.

Amazingly, Smith was competing in the heavier 63kg weight category back then and duly finished outside the top 10, but she has since focused on slimming down ahead of the Olympic Games in an attempt to boost her medal chances.

Helen Jewell, competing in the same category on Wednesday, failed to record an overall total and was therefore not placed in the final standings.

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Olympic line-up complete

Six nations qualify to complete London handball line-up

Former Olympic champions Croatia headlined the six countries who qualified for the London 2012 Olympic handball tournament to complete the 12-team line-up for the men's competition.

Croatia won Olympic gold in 1996 and 2004 and will be back looking for a third title in London after they beat Iceland 31-28 but both teams managed to progress. Comfortable victories over Japan and Chile meant that both Croatia and Iceland will be going for gold in London this summer, joined by four other nations who also booked their places over Easter.

Sweden, who have won Olympic silver three times, also made it through alongside Hungary, Spain and Serbia as the 12-team Olympic line-up was completed. World champions France had already won a place at London 2012 with that victory, to join hosts Great Britain, European champions Denmark, South Korea, Tunisia and Argentina in the tournament.

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GB handball take positives

Men's handball team take heart in close defeat to South Korea

Great Britain men's handball team are taking the positives despite finishing in last place in the Pinsent Masons' London Handball Cup.

GB finished bottom with three defeats against Argentina, South Korea and Tunisia, who rank among the best in the world, in the round-robin tournament at Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. Playing in the tournament as practice for this summer's Olympic Games, they found life tough against the South Americans on Thursday night, going down to a hefty 32-15 defeat, before being put to the sword by eventual event winners Tunisia on Good Friday in a 41-15 loss. But Dragan Djukic's side can take heart by giving a fast and athletic South Korea a test on Saturday before losing 29-25.

Another positive GB can take is the performance of right-back Steven Larsson, who finished top scorer with 19 goals, 14 of those coming in a fine individual showing against Korea. A spokesman for British Handball said: "The plan for the Pinsent Masons' London Handball Cup was to give Great Britain experience of playing against the top nations so they can better prepare for this summer's Olympics. "On that score it is very much 'job done' with lessons learned, and Great Britain will take heart from their performance against a very strong Korean side." GB next take to the court in June for their Euro 2014 pre-qualification tournament in Italy, where they face Greece, Switzerland and the host nation in a bid to get through to the group stage of qualifying.

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Olympics 2012 news 12BET update 1/10

Following completion by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) of the main structures on the Olympic Park, the site will now officially be handed over to LOCOG to begin transforming it into a fully-operational venue.

Dennis Hone, ODA Chief Executive, said: 'We hand the Olympic Park to the Organising Committee fully confident that they will continue pressing ahead on their preparations so that London 2012 becomes a brilliant once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and experience for everyone involved.'

LOCOG will now commence 'ramping-up' work to fit out venues and stage testing and licensing events. This will include constructing 100,000 square feet of Games-time retail space, installing the ‘look and feel’ of the Games throughout the Park and sourcing a million pieces of sport equipment.

LOCOG Chair Seb Coe said: 'The handover of the Olympic Park sounds the starting pistol in the race to get the site and venues ready to host the two biggest sporting events on the planet.

'In just 200 days time, 200 countries – more than the membership of the United Nations – will be sending 15,000 athletes and 20,000 accredited media to London to create history.' - http://www.london2012.com

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Sea games News Update 12/1

26 NSAs snub POC evaluation meet

PHILIPPINE Olympic Committee president Jose Cojuangco Jr. was left disappointed when only 16 out of the 42 national sports associations that sent athletes to the recent 26th Indonesia Southeast Asian Games showed up for an assessment meeting with the POC last Tuesday.

"This was what I was afraid of when POC secretary-general Steve Hontiveros called for the meeting with the NSAs, and this is exactly what happened," Gymnastics Association of the Philippines secretary-general Bettina Pou, who attended the affair, quoted Cojuangco as saying.

Aside from gymnastics, which claimed it had produced one bronze in the meet although this has yet to be reflected in the official standings of the 26th SEA Games website, also represented were archery, basketball, bowling, cycling, chess, equestrian, golf, canoeing/dragon boat, fencing, judo, billiards and snooker, rowing, wrestling and wushu.

Among the prominent no-shows were athletics, swimming and shooting, medal-rich events in the regional sports showcase, but ended up as big flops in Indonesia.

Promising at least six gold medals, athletics finished with just two while swimming and shooting had none.

In all, Filipino campaigners ended up with a 36-56-77 gold-silver-bronze tally, good for sixth overall, the country’s worst finish in the games that started in 1977.- http://www.malaya.com.ph/

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SEA Games 2011 stampede 12bet news update 11/30

Two killed' in SEA Games football final stampede

Two Indonesian football fans died in a stampede in Jakarta on Monday at the Southeast Asian Games final against Malaysia, according to a victim's brother and a report citing a paramedic..

"When we found the victims, they were already dead," paramedic Abdul Majid told the Detik.com news portal outside the stadium.

Local media reported that several other spectators had been taken to hospital, including a nine-year-old boy who had fallen into a coma.

The two fans wearing Indonesian red-and-white team T-shirts were reportedly taken to hospital at 8:30 pm, around 90 minutes after the stampede broke out, as thousands streamed into the game.

"As we were entering the stadium, the crowd of people pushed each other to make their way forward," Helmi, the brother of one of the victims, told AFP.

"My brother was pushed away from me and we were separated. I then heard that some people had fallen and that people had died. I rushed to check and found my brother dead."

The identity of the second victim was unknown.

Deadly stampedes at major sporting, music and religious events are common in Indonesia.

Violence at football games is also common, with disgruntled fans often throwing dangerous items onto the field after matches.

Earlier Monday, two men were arrested for burning down a ticket booth at the stadium upon learning the match had sold out, media reported.

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Indonesia will face LA Galaxy on November 30th, 2011

After failing to reach a gold medal at SEA Games 2011, Indonesia will host American team on this week. LA Galaxy visiting Indonesia in Asia Pacific Tour 2011. There are three countries that will be visited in this tour. Indonesia is the first country then Philippines and the last Australia. David Beckham and his teammate have landed at Soekarno-Hatta airport today. MLS winner will play against Indonesia Selection on Wednesday November 30th, 2011 at Gelora Bung Karno Stadium.

This is the squad of LA Galaxy in Asia Pacific Tour 2011.

Goalkeepers : Brian Perk, Donovan Ricketts, Josh Saunders

Defenders : Gregg Berhalter, A.J. DeLaGarza, Todd Dunivant, Sean Franklin, Omar Gonzalez, Frankie Hejduk, Dasan Robinson, Ryan Thomas

Midfielders : David Beckham, Chris Birchall, Paolo Cardozo, Landon Donovan, Hector Jimenez, Bryan Jordan, Juninho, Dan Keat, Jovan Kirovski, Mike Magee, Dustin McCarty, Michael Stephens

Forwards : Adam Cristman, Robbie Keane, Miguel Lopez, Jack McBean

And this is squad of Indonesia Selection

Goalkeepers : Kurnia Meiga, Andritany Adhriyasa

Defenders : Diego Michiels, Hasim Kipuw, Hamka Hamzah, Zulkifli Syukur, Victor Igbonefo, Gunawan Dwi Cahyo

Midfielders : Egi Melgiansyah, Octovianus Maniani, Mahadirga Lasut, Andik Vermansyah, Firman Utina, M. Ridwan, Ahmad Bustomi, Muhammad Ilham

Forwards : Patrich Wanggai, Bambang Pamungkas, Christian Gonzales, Greg Nwokolo

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SEA Games 2011 news 12bet update 11/28

Menpora: See you in Myanmar 2013

XXVI SEA Games officially ended and Indonesia emerge as overall champion. Andi Mallarangeng Menpora also congratulated the host contingent as well as to thank all parties.

Until the last day of the SEA Games organizing, Indonesia to collect 182 gold, 151 silver and 142 bronze. They became the overall champion after 14 years of fasting.

Certainly a proud achievement for athletes Indonesia, the world of sports when the country is experiencing a decline relative achievement.

Top achievement, Andi also congratulated the athletes who have been hosts to provide the best for his people. And do not forget he deliver to his gratitude to the supporters of the SEA Games, especially Jakarta and Palembang as the host.

"Praise the weekend sports Southeast Asia into the 26th running smoothly and according to plan. Success organizing a successful achievement. As the organizer of the SEA Games, this time we acknowledge with gratitude to all parties, Jakarta, Palembang, Officials, volunteers, a pedicab driver, bus driver and everything, "Andi said in a speech at the Closing Ceremony at the Main Stadium Jakabaring, Tuesday (11/22/2011) evening hrs.

"Especially the Indonesian athletes who have won the overall championship. Without the hard work of all, the SEA Games are not likely to succeed," he continued.

"Thanks to all of them. See you in Myanmar in two years," concludes Andy.

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SEA Games 2011 news 12bet update 11/27

Tan Yoke Lan: Stops chemotherapy for SEA Games

Jakarta (UR):  A Singaporean grandmother stopped her chemotherapy sessions in order to participate at the 26th SEA Games, and she won a gold medal on Sunday.

 Tan Yoke Lan (63) had to undergo a mastectomy after she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but she ignored her doctor’s advice and left for Indonesia. Antara news agency quoted the Straits Time daily in Singapore as saying that Tan chose not to undergo chemotherapy as she wanted to compete in the bridge event.

At the event, she won gold with her partner Seet Choon Cheng on Sunday. “Only weeks ago, I wasn’t sure if I would be here,” the grandmother of six said. “But then I decided to come because I didn’t want to let my partner down.”

After winning the first bridge gold medal for Singapore, the pair hugged each other and cried at the Hotel Jayakarta in Palembang.

Tan said she would start chemotherapy once back in Singapore. “I’m a fighter and I have fight to the end,” she said. - http://seag2011.com

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Post deserted Jakabaring SEA Games

Jakabaring Sport City which was frenetic in the last six months suddenly deserted after the completion of the Games XXVI SEA Games in Palembang, South Sumatra.

Nearly invisible to striking activities in and around the complex Jakabaring. Today all that remains is an atmosphere of quiet and rest of the diverse types of waste. Rusli Nawi, the Head of Hygiene and security task force Jakabaring Sport City said it currently returns the JSC as an area of ​​beautiful and clean as usual.

He did not menapik if the area looks chaotic Southeast Asian Games were held. Because there are piles of garbage and some parts of the park grass trampled to death due to frequent visitors.

"It's the risk if there is a big event. A lot of dead grass which induced the hands of ignorant and some facilities that need to be repaired," said Rush Nawi.

He guarantees it will be more beautiful region at the latest up to two months. Some parts that looked worn like in the front garden Gelora Sriwijaya Jakabaring, Venues front garden and park at the roundabout Jakabaring

Likewise, the means of support of the celebration that began caged like Golf Car, Bus Transportation, and bicycles. Furthermore, the vehicle will soon be in mass transit functioned for the purposes of a commercial character.

Head of communications in South Sumatera, Sarimuda said it received help from the ministry of 5 units of bus transportation that are intended for transportation in the JSC complex. Taruhan12BET

Fifth Taruhan12BET large buses it was forced to temporarily grounded in the front office while waiting for the continuation of local government policy. He claimed to have been filed so that the vehicle can be used for transportation out of town by a distance not too far away.

"We ask that vehicles be Taruhan12BET it can be used at close range passenger transport. It is not possible we will hibahkan on BRT transmusi managers," said Sarimuda.

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Sea games News Update 11/24

The Star’s overview of the 26th SEA Games in Palembang and Jakarta

COMEBACK HEROES
GOLDEN OLDIE: The 49-year-old Sam Chong was coaxed out of retirement to take up his snooker cue once again and he delivered a gold in the men’s doubles with current national No. 1 Thor Chuan Leong.
SIBLING SPECIAL: Former F1 driver Alex Yoong made a return to waterskiing after 14 years to clinch the men’s overall gold medal.Younger sister Phillipa Yoong was only 18 when she won gold in the 1997 Jakarta Games. This time, the mother of two won two gold medals in the women’s slalom and overall events.

GOLDEN DEBUTANTS
COOL KAT: The 19-year-old Katrina Ann Hadi capped her first Games appearance in stunning fashion – winning five gold medals in synchronized swimming.
LETHAL WEAPONS: It was only his second international tournament but Kevan Cheah Peng Heng did well to win the men’s combined nandao (sword) and nangun (stick) wushu event.
PEDAL POWER: Ju Pha Som Net marked her maiden Games outing by winning the women’s team sprint event with Fatehah Mustapa.

BIG WINNERS
DYNAMIC DUO: Shareen Png and Katrina Ann Hadi are the proud winners of five gold medals each after helping Malaysia make a clean sweep in synchronised swimming.
ALLEY ACE: Adrian Ang helped Malaysia bag four out of the five gold medals and it came from the doubles (with Alex Liew), trios (Adrian, Alex, Zulmazran Zulkifli), team of five and Masters. Alex had three gold medals.
TRACK QUEEN: Fatehah Mustapa bagged three gold medals (500m time trial, sprint and team sprint) – a huge leap from her three bronze medals at 2007 Games in Korat.

GOLDEN SWANSONG
ONE FOR THE ROAD: Yeoh Ken Nee bid goodbye to the Games by winning the men’s 3m springboard title. It was his 15th gold medal in the SEA Games series since making his debut in Jakarta in 1997

STARS IN THE MAKING
A HIGH FOR LOH: Swimmer Christina Loh announced her arrival on the senior stage with her first SEA Games gold medal in the 50m breaststroke event.
SMASHING ACT: Debutant shuttlers Lim Khim Wah-Goh V Shem showed that they are the future in the men’s doubles after beating world No. 6 Mohd Ahsan-Bona Septano (SEA Games individual doubles champions) in the team event.

GOLDEN RECORD
SIMPLY SU-PERB: Malaysia’s top shooter Suryani Mohd Taibi shot down Malaysia’s first gold medal of the Games in the 50m rifle 3 position. She also became the first athlete to win two gold medals in this Games.
TAKE A BOW: Cheng Chu Sian is first archer to win three medals in the Games. He won two golds in the individual and team recurve and a silver in the mixed team.HIGH-ACHIEVER: Pole vaulter Roslinda Samsu delivered Malaysia’s sixth athletics gold with a new SEA Games record of 4.20m.- http://thestar.com.my/

 

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Next host for SEA GAMES on 2013 12BET news update 11/23

To host the 2013 Games, Myanmar Promises Better than Indonesia 

SEA Games XXVI will be closed today in Palembang. Seeing the poor preparation and implementation of Indonesia as the host, Myanmar is determined to be a better host. Taruhan12BET

Is Tawng Naw, chairman of the Myanmar contingent critics in Indonesia as the host this year's SEA Games. Starting from the opening, all sports games, to accommodation and transport do not escape from the camp kritkian Myanmar.Taruhan12BET

"Myanmar will perform better than Palembang. We will try our best," said Naw Tawng opitimistis, Malaysia's The Star newspaper said on Tuesday (22/11/2011).

"We observed how to operate and perform the opening ceremony and closing ceremony, and second, for all sports. Third, (areas like) accommodation and transportation," he said.

Naw Tawng ensure that issues related to the preparation of accommodation will not color the implementation of the SEA Games in the capital city of Myanmar XXVII, Naypydaw.

With the 25Taruhan12BET hotels in Naypydaw and 40 hotels in Yangon, the former general secretary of the Myanmar Football Federation was confident of being able to accommodate all the SEA Games contingent of 11 countries are estimated to number 7000 athletes and 2,500 officials.

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Steady at the Top Indonesia The Standings

Indonesia won dozens of medals on Monday (21.11.2011), which established itself at the top. Unfortunately, one of the prestigious sports, football failed to pan gold medal.

A total of 55 medals collected additional contingent Indonesia. With details of 23 gold medals, 16 silver and 16 bronze.

Noted from the official website of the SEA Games, Indonesia is still at the top of the medals with 181 gold, 151 silver and 142 bronze.

Followed by Thailand with 107 gold, 98 silver and 120 bronze and Vietnam with 96 gold, 98 silver and 120 bronze.

Although it has been confirmed as the overall champion, but Indonesia failed to complete it by winning football. In the final match that was held Monday (21/11) evening, "Red and White" just won the silver medal after defeated Malaysia in the shootout.

The tournament finals left to live paragliding which was held on the last day (22/11/2011) before the tournament SEA Games XXVI closed.

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Myanmar U23 vs Vietnam U23 Sea Games Asian Handicap 11/21 5PM GMT+8

Former star Minh believes VN capable of reaching final

HCM CITY — Viet Nam have a fair chance of making it to the final when they take on hosts and strong contenders Indonesia in the semifinal of the Southeast Asia Games football today, former national defender Tran Cong Minh has said.The match promises to be exhilarating and unpredictable since both teams are offensive-minded and fairly well matched. Indonesia scored 11 goals in their three group games while unbeaten Viet Nam scored 18 goals in five."Indonesia clearly have an advantage over Viet Nam since they will play at home in front of tens of thousands of fans," the former national team assistant coach admitted.

"Indonesia could put a lot of pressure on Viet Nam but I believe Viet Nam have enough quality players to counter-attack and find the goal."Viet Nam will not have the services of top defender Nguyen Thanh Long Giang, who has been suspended after being red-carded in the final group match against Laos.

"It is a substantial loss without Giang in defence but the other defenders will do the job," Minh said.

He pinned his hopes on midfielders Pham Thanh Luong, Nguyen Trong Hoang and Nguyen Van Quyet, and strikers Le Van Thang and Nguyen Dinh Tung."The skillful and experienced captain Luong, leading scorer Quyet, and Hoang can decide the match," Minh said, predicting a very tight score line.Malaysia and Myanmar, who were unbeaten in the group stages, will play in the other semifinal the same day.Defending champions Malaysia are clear favourites against Myanmar, who won a silver in 2007 but crashed out in 2009. — VNS

  Based on the odds provided  there is a big chance that Vietnam U23  will win this match! So click on the odds and place your bets now!

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12BET Sea Games News Update 11/20

SEA Games Water Polo: Singapore beat Malaysia 15-7 to wrap up 24th straight games gold

Palembang, Friday, November 18, 2011 — Singapore beat Malaysia 15-7 to win the country’s 24th straight South-east Asian (SEA) Games water polo gold medal. Singapore have won every SEA Games medal since the country’s independence in 1965.Singapore finished the round-robin stage with a perfect 4-0 win-loss record to secure the gold. Philippines (3-1) won the silver while Indonesia (2-2) got the bronze. Thailand (1-3) was fourth while Malaysia (0-4) finished fifth and last. There is no knockout phase for water polo.
Singapore outscored their opponents 58-29 over the four games with their closest game coming in their 12-11 win over Indonesia.

“It was a breathtaking game of great intensity from both sides,” wrote Singapore team manager Samuel Wong on Facebook, referring to the game against Indonesia. “Our captain Eugene contributed [the] bulk of the goal counts which stabilised the team. Special credits have to be given to Nigel Tay, our goal keeper, who has again and again denied those offensive plays by the Indon team.”Samuel also paid tribute to the team for pulling through despite having to juggle work and training.

“After the 2 intensive games with Philippines & Indonesia, what I saw in my team was a group of 13 players who have sacrificed (the) bulk of their time training rigorously in the pool, suffering from injuries, getting pressure from juggling between work & water polo,” Samuel also shared on Facebook.

“After the final whistle with Indonesia today, I can’t keep my emotion but to say this is the best S’pore Water Polo team I’ve ever taken. The number of bruises after each game just keep the team even more motivated as we know of our duty to do proud to our beloved Singapore! The victory is by no means easy. It’s great to work beside great coach like (Lim) Sai Meng & Thomas Hoad who have devoted big way to the team. Majulah Singapura!!!” said an exuberant Samuel.

According to The New Paper (Sat, Nov 19, 2011, p.58), captain Eugene Teo described this SEA Games as one of his hardest, describing it as the “closest shave we’ve ever gotten”.At Asian Games level, Singapore have won a total of one gold, two silver and four bronze medals. Singapore’s last Asian Games water polo medal was a bronze at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. Singapore finished sixth at the 2010 Asian Games.- by http://redsports.sg

 

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Sea Gmaes News 11/18

Phillipa does it again

Phillipa Yoong was not competing in water-skiing for personal glory but felt she had a responsibility to raise the profile of the sport in the Sea Games and the pressure showed when she fell while completing the routine in the slalom yesterday.  

 However, she received a second chance when she tied with Singapore's Sasha Christian and a runoff was held.Phillipa made no mistakes this time and won gold, her second in the Sea Games, and in the process set a Games record. The Malaysian made a winning debut, also in Jakarta, in 1997 as a 19-year-old.The previous record was set by Indonesia's Nuniek, who cleared the buoy at the speed of 55kph with a 14-metre rope, while Phillipa's rope was 13 metres when she cleared the buoy at 55kph.

   It is one of the longest waits --  14 years -- for an athlete to go for a second gold due to water-skiing being dropped after the 1997 Games.Phillipa, a mother of two, was delighted as she firmly believes that winning gold here would boost interest among the young generation again.

"I was just thinking about the gold so much and there was so much pressure. Water-skiing in Malaysia really needs a breakthrough and the gold medal is so crucial. I am glad and relieved to have won," said Phillipa"This is the reason I struggled in the qualifying rounds yesterday (Wednesday) and I also fell on the second pass. But I was fortunate to get it right in the runoff," she added. "I think the gold had eased the pressure and we are looking forward to more medals."Phillipa dedicated the medal to her husband Andrew Bailey whose support allowed her to continue as head coach of the national team and also to focus on her training.


   "I owe this to Andrew because he has been very supportive. He looks after our children -- Tara and Chloe -- whenever I go for training or compete abroad. He looks after them, sends them to school and is always around to help. He is my most trusted babysitter," joked Phillipa.Phillipa's effort rubbed  off on her brother, Alex, who secured a surprise slalom silver as Indonesians Wangka Fath Daud and Indra Hardinata took gold and bronze respectively.- http://www.nst.com.my

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Sea Games News Update 11/17

SEA GAMES: Perfect record

Yeoh Ken Nee bade farewell to the Sea Games in grand style by lifting his 15th title in the men's 3-metre springboard individual event at the Jakabaring Aquatic Centre yesterday as Pandelela Rinong added the women's 10m platform individual gold to Malaysia's haul on the final day of diving yesterday.   The 28-year-old Ken Nee led from start to finish for a 458.15 total to earn his second gold after winning the springboard synchro with Bryan Nickson Lomas in Palembang on Monday.

Teammate Ahmad Amsyar Azmar took the bronze with 397.30 behind Indonesia's Akhmad Sukran Jamjami on 401.85.Ken Nee first competed in the Sea Games at the 1995 Chiangmai edition before clinching Malaysia's first ever diving medal, a bronze, in the 10m platform individual two years later in Jakarta.He made further breakthroughs for Malaysian diving by earning the country's first ever Sea Games gold medal at the 1999 Brunei Games and since then, except for the 2003 Hanoi edition, he has kept a perfect record in the 3m springboard discipline.

   Ken Nee's success yesterday was his sixth springboard individual title and it was won in style with flawless dives."Eight Sea Games are enough. I will quit after the London Olympic Games. Age is not on my side and recovery from injuries is tough," said Ken Nee. "My body can't take the tough training. However, I will return as a coach.""I thank everyone for supporting my career, especially my coach Yang Zhuliang. He supported me during the good and bad times. I want to dedicate my final Sea Games title to him."- http://www.nst.com.my

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