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November 23, 2009 21:14 PM
RSYC Sail Into Lead After First Day Competitions
KUALA TERENGGANU, Nov 23 (Bernama) -- Royal Selangor Yacht Club (RSYC) skippered by Rizal Mahadi Sazali took the lead on the first day of the Malaysian Match Racing Championships (MMRC) after picking up three wins from three races in the round robin competition here Monday.
Rizal said he was a little surprised at picking up three wins, beating Duyong Heritage Sailing Team, Harimau Selatan and Team KBS.
"We did not expect to win three races but nevertheless it puts us in a strong position to advance further in the championship," he told reporters here Monday.
Another team representing RSYC, Team Viewpoint, also had a clean record when they won two races today after beating Duyong Heritage Sailing Club and Club Marina Terengganu.
However, the highlight of the day was the victory of Sail Putrajaya Team, skippered by Nurul Elia Anuar, who convincingly defeated seasoned campaigners Malaysia Armed Forces 1 with Mohamad Razali Mansor at helm.
Incidentally, Mohamad Razali was Nurul Elia's former coach.
Asked how she felt beating her former coach, Nurul Elia said: "I feel guilty, but during the race, the crew and I did the right things, our race applications worked well."
"We did three race starts, but only completed one, while the other races had to be abandoned as there was a sudden significant shift in the wind."
Meanwhile, Razali's Malaysian Armed Forces 1 despite losing to Nurul Elia's team, won two other races by beating Club Marina Terengganu skippered by Hamdan Yahya and Malaysian Armed Forces 2, led by Mahsyuri Rahmat.
Today, some races were abandoned while some were interrupted by stoppages due to lack of wind.
Thirteen teams including nine new ones are taking part in the MMRC held at Pulau Duyong here, to vie for a sole ticket to compete in the prestigious Monsoon Cup which is part of the World Match Racing Tour's (WMRT).
Apart from the Asian Match Racing Challenge (AMRC), the MMRC was introduced as another qualifier for the Monsoon Cup, to encourage more Malaysians to take up sailing at the highest level.
The Monsoon Cup will be held from Dec 1-6 at the same venue.
-- BERNAMA
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