Three-gold haul helps Singapore finish fourth at Asean Schools Games
Being a student-athlete implies that there is as much learning going on as there is competing.
This was borne out admirably by Singapore's trio of gold medallists yesterday, the Asean Schools Games' (ASG) final day of competition.
Bairavarasu Rutvik Rau got things started by clinching the Republic's first squash title, beating Malaysia's Wee Ming Hock 11-6, 11-5, 3-11, 10-12, 14-12 in the boys' singles final.
"It was kind of just carrying on the momentum for me, as I was fired up after I beat the Malaysian top seed (Adam Agan Aziz) in the semi-final,"said the 18-year-old.
"Even though I threw away a 2-0 lead (in the final), I just told myself to stay calm and listen to the advice of my coaches and friends, and continue doing what I always do."
Swimmer Mikkel Lee, 16, had to deal with being out of his comfort zone competing in Malaysia, but still matched his haul of four gold medals and a silver from last year's Games on home soil, punctuating his campaign with a dominant swim in his last individual event.
The Year 4 Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) student stormed home in the 50m freestyle in a meet record of 23.28sec, ahead of runner-up Ravipon Sangaworawong (24.04) of Thailand. Teammate Gabriel Foo was third in 24.06.
There was vindication for Jamie Koo as well after frustratingly playing bridesmaid twice in the 50m and 100m butterfly, as she smashed a meet record of her own in the 50m back (30.20) to take the gold.
Singapore finished fourth in the medal standings with 13 golds, 16 silvers and 22 bronzes, with hosts Malaysia (37-34-32) at the top followed by Indonesia (31-36-30) and Thailand (19-21-31) in third.
The Games end today with a cultural programme for the student-athletes, followed by the closing ceremony. - LESTER WONG
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