Skip to main content
Home The New Paper
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team

Popular

  • COURT & CRIME
  • Food & Drink
Team Singapore

Fifth, but new-look Singapore sprint quartet still smile

Fifth, but new-look Singapore sprint quartet still smile
COMPLETE: Timothee Yap (right) was the final runner for 
 the new-look Singapore 'A' 4x100m relay
 team.TNP PHOTO: CHOO CHWEE HUA

New Singapore sprint relay men happy enough with first big outing

Sazali Abdul Aziz
Sports Correspondent
Apr 30, 2016 06:00 am
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • 0 Engagements

A new-look national men's 4x100m relay team took to the track at 78th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships at the National Stadium yesterday.

While they hardly took the breath away with their time - they clocked 40.44 sec to finished fifth, more than a second behind winners Indonesia (39.28) - the Republic's sprinters had reason to smile.

Calvin Kang, one of just two faces left from the previous squad, said: "I would say 40.44 is very good.

"Usually teams that come together for the first time run about a 40.8 the first time.

"And some of our passing today was safe... From today's performances, some of the juniors are stepping up okay.

"Ideally, all of us should be running a 10.5s average. At the moment, we are running about 10.8s on average."

Usain Bolt said he had no symptoms, but urged his friends to take precautions.
Athletics

Usain Bolt self-quarantines after taking Covid-19 test

Aug 25, 2020

Related Stories

Ex-athletics head says he hid doping cases to help sport’s finances

Poles apart, but vaulters keep competing

Farah caught up in controversy over 2014 injection

The quartet that ran as the new "A" team yesterday were Kang, Naqib Asmin, Khairyll Amri and Timothee Yap.

The relay team lost four seniors after last June's SEA Games on home soil, when they won a fourth consecutive silver medal with a new national record of 39.24.

BRIDGING THE GAP

Gary Yeo, Amirudin Jamal, Lee Cheng Wei and Elfi Mustapa hung up their spikes after the biennial Games, leaving only 28-year-old Kang and 21-year-old Naqib.

Yap, one of the new guard, admitted the task of bridging the gap with the region's top countries will be a tough slog.

"We have big shoes to fill," said the 22-year-old, who won this year's Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic Track and Field Championships 100m with a wind-aided 10.52sec.

"The previous guys trained together for so long, they had very good chemistry.

"But for us to get a 40.44s on our first run is commendable.

"Over the next year or so, our base speed has to improve, especially if we want to compete with the Thais and Indonesians."

National coach (sprints, relays and hurdles) Luis Cunha was nonplussed by the task ahead.

When asked if he had a tough challenge on his hands, the Portuguese three-time Olympian said: "The word is not 'tough'. But we need time.

"This season, we have no major competitions, so it is very much a season of transition for the team.

"Next year, we have the SEA Games and that's the important one."

He added that he had problems finding enough quality sprinters to form a boys' junior relay team for June's Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Vietnam, and was likely to just travel with a girls' team.

He added he would present a preparation plan to the Singapore Athletics exco ahead of next year's SEA Games in August, in a bid to get the team to peak then.

Kang is hopeful.

He noted yesterday's time was clocked despite him nursing a knee injury, and Naqib had only just returned from a back injury.

"It's been a long journey for the relay team," said Kang.

"A lot of us are at different parts of the season, and we only had two relay training sessions together.

"In fact, the second was just last week.

"So, all things considered, today's time was not bad."

Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now

athletics

Sazali Abdul Aziz

Sports Correspondent
msazali@sph.com.sg
@SazaliAbdulAziz
Read articles by Sazali Abdul Aziz
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on WhatsApp
  • E-mail this article
  • Newslink -  Purchase this article for republication

Top Stories this Month

Naiise closes last store at Jewel, may wind up operations
Singapore

Naiise shutters last store at Jewel, may cease operations

Apr 12, 2021
Neil Humphreys: United manager Solskjaer must apologise for Son abuse
Football

Ole must apologise for Son abuse

Apr 13, 2021
Some workers facing anxiety from having to return to office
Singapore

Some workers get re-entry blues after returning to office

Apr 12, 2021
Home
  • Contests
  • Coupon
  • Team
  • Home
  • News
    • Singapore
    • World
    • Business
    • Views
    • Backstage
    • Others
  • Sports
    • Football
    • Singapore Football
    • Team Singapore
    • School Sports
    • Athletics
    • Basketball
    • Cricket
    • Swimming
    • Tennis
    • Golf
    • Racing
    • Others
  • Entertainment
    • Movies
    • Music
    • TV
    • Star Style
    • School of Frock
  • Lifestyle
    • Makan
    • Hed Chef
    • Weets Eats
    • Health
    • Tech
    • Travel
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
    • Biker Boy
    • Celeb Chow
    • Others
  • Racing
  • Your Tip-Offs
  • Read E-Paper
  • Contact TNP
  • About SPH
  • Privacy Statement
  • Data Protection Policy
  • Member Terms & Conditions
  • Website Terms & Conditions
SPH Digital News Copyright © 2021 Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. Co. Regn No. 198402868E