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OMAN TRIBUNE
SPORTS
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2015
27
Young Omani sailors make big splash
Six from Sultanate finish in top half of 110–strong fleet as Singapore dominate winners’ podium
MUSCAT
THE FUTURE OF OMAN
sailing looks bright after
the nation’s most talented
youngsters came away with
their prospects boosted by
performances at 2015 Mussanah Race Week. A week of
training competition alongside the best Optimist sailors
in the world proved a powerful and valuable experience
for the 39 Omani youngsters
who were selected from the
Omantel Youth Programme
to take part.
Six of the group finished
in the top half of the 110
strong fleet, confirming their
potential on the world class
stage with Oman’s first ever
Optimist National Champion
Zakariya Suleiman Al Wahabi
finishing in a promising 25th
place, according to a press
release.
Marwan Khalifa Al Jabri
finished 31st, Almoatasem
Al Farsi finished 41st in what
was his first international
event, Oman’s most successful girl Samiha Al Riyami
finished 43rd and Jihad Al
Hasani in 53rd was the only
junior sailor qualifying in the
gold fleet and went away with
the under 12 overall trophy.
All five qualified to represent Oman in the upcoming
GCC Championships to be
held from April to 4 in Abu
Dhabi.
Amongst the contestants
were sailors from Argentina,
Bahrain, Brazil, Denmark,
Spain, Finland, Great Britain,
Germany, Malaysia, Mozambique, Norway, Oman, Poland, Qatar, Singapore and
Switzerland.
But it was Singapore that
dominated the winners’ podium with Daniel Ian Toh and
Jodie Lai taking first and second place in an exhibition of
skill and determination while
the Omani sailors benefitted
from the high level of performance throughout Oman
Sail’s race organisation.
The leading podium place
of the silver fleet was won by
Oman’s Alla Saleh Al Amrani,
followed by Jentl Hanemaai-
Stoke avoid
joining City,
Chelsea on
casualty list
ROCHDALE (UK)
STOKE EASILY AVOIDED
joining the growing list of
famous FA Cup casualties as
fine goals from Bojan Krkic
and Victor Moses inspired
a 4-1 win at Rochdale in the
fourth round late on Monday.
Mark Hughes’ side travelled to Spotland hoping to
ensure there was no repeat
of the stunning scenes that
saw third tier Bradford win
at Premier League leaders
Chelsea and Championship
team Middlesbrough shock
reigning English champions
Manchester City on Saturday.
With Manchester United
held by Cambridge and Liverpool unable to beat Bolton,
this year’s fourth round had
already thrown up a series of
remarkable results, but Stoke,
now the fifth highest-ranked
team left in the Cup, subdued
their League One opponents
to set up a fifth round tie at
second tier Blackburn.
Former Barcelona forward
Bojan put Stoke ahead with
a superb swerving volley in
the fourth minute and even
though he was forced off with
an injury soon after, there was
never any sign of City losing
their grip on the match.
Bojan’s replacement Stephen Ireland doubled Stoke’s
lead in the 52nd minute when
he was left unmarked to steer
in a cross from Moses.
Just nine minutes later,
Nigerian winger Moses effectively ended the tie as he
tricked his way past Rochdale’s Joe Rafferty before
curling a brilliant finish into
the far corner.
Rhys Bennett got one back
for Rochdale, sweeping home
from inside the penalty area
after Stoke failed twice to
clear their lines in the 78th
minute.
But Jon Walters tapped
in from close-range in stoppage-time to seal Stoke’s
progress to the last 16.
Agence France-Presse
Winners of the Mussanah Race Week pose for a group photo.
jer from Netherlands in second place and Khalid Showaiter from Bahrain in the third
position.
“They all did very well,
the sailors, coaches and race
management and everyone
involved in the racing,” said
Abdul Aziz Al Shidi, Oman
Sail’s Youth Pathway Coach.
“The most competitive sailors of our youth squad were
fighting in the gold fleet and
our newer sailors were leading in the silver fleet. It was a
great success in every level.
The results are a reflection
on the work that the Omani
youth coaches are putting in.
We still have a long way to go
but we feel we are on the right
track and there is definitely
plenty to look forward to.”
The race management at
Mussanah Race Week came
under close scrutiny by of-
ficials making assessments of
the venue for future events but
all of them passed with flying
colours, Al Shidi added.
It included coaches and centre managers from Oman Sail’s
sailing schools such as Rami Al
Araimi, Haitham Al Wahaibi,
Zam Zam Al Balushi, Ali Al
Harbi, Ghaith Al Kasbi, Sultan Al Balushi, Saleh Al Araimi,
Abdul Aziz Al Mashari, Salim
Al Araimi, Nawaf Al Ghidani,
Ali Al Shuhaimi and Mohamed
Al Araimi
To bring the curtain down
on 2015 Mussanah Race
Week, Oman Sail hosted a final
prize giving ceremony attended by all 110 sailors and their
teams under the patronage of
HE Dr. Humoud Bin Khalfan
Al Harthi, Undersecretary for
Education and Curriculum,
Ministry of Education.
On the success of the
event, David Graham CEO
of Oman Sail commented,
“Mussanah Race Week was
a truly global event this year
with 110 boats and 19 different nationalities taking part.
Within this multinational
field we had male and female
sailing champions from
around the world, including continental champions
from South America, Africa,
Europe, and the current top-
ranked Optimist Sailor in
the World. This was a huge
opportunity for the sailors
representing Oman and
has given the Omani youth
a chance to test themselves
against the world’s best, to
gauge their own progress,
see how different teams operate, adopt new techniques,
and experience representing
their country as an athlete in
international competition”.
“Sport has an immense power to unite people from different
backgrounds and this event extends far beyond sailing; it is an
opportunity to embrace different cultures, forge friendships
and develop skills that can last a
lifetime. This event also allowed
us to do all of that and demonstrate the Sultanate’s capability
as a world-class sailing venue,”
he added.
Oman Tribune
Rough diamond Lee salutes coach for rise to fame
SYDNEY
SOUTH KOREA STRIKER
Lee Jeong-Hyeop has credited coach Uli Stielike for
his rapid rise to fame after
helping his country reach
the Asian Cup final.
The 23-year-old, a
shock call-up for the tournament, has gone from
rough diamond to polished
gem in less than a month,
scoring in South Korea’s
group stage win over
Australia and heading the
team’s first in Monday’s
2-0 semi-final victory
over Iraq. Not bad for a
player previously almost
unknown outside South
Korea, and whose inclusion raised eyebrows after
Stielike picked him on the
basis of his performances
in a handful of K-League
games, all as a substitute.
Despite the pressure on
South Korea to win a first
Asian Cup since 1960,
on top of the need to justify his selection, Lee has
Edgar Su/Reuters
Lee Jeong-hyeop celebrates after scoring against Iraq.
flourished, celebrating his
goals by snapping a salute
-- as befitting a player serving his mandatory service
South Korea’s Son warns
nation to stay grounded
SYDNEY
SOUTH KOREA FORWArd Son Heung-Min has
warned team-mates and an
expectant nation to keep
their feet on the ground after
reaching their first Asian Cup
final in 27 years.
The Korean pin-up’s sparkling performances have put
his country within touching
distance of a first Asian Cup title
since 1960 and after Monday’s
2-0 win over Iraq, the pressure
will be on them to finish the job.
With hosts Australia heavy
favourites to beat the United
Arab Emirates in the second
semi-final, however, Son knows
it will be a tough ask, despite
having beaten the Socceroos
in the group stages.
“It’s far too early for us to be
talking about the title,” the jetheeled Bayer Leverkusen star
told reporters in fluent German. “Every game has such a
different complexion that you
just can’t say.
“We still have a massive game
to play in the final so we can’t
afford to be talking about lifting
the trophy.”
Son, who struck twice in
extra-time to sink Uzbekistan
2-0 in the quarter-finals, tormented Iraq in rainy Sydney as
goals from Lee Jeong-Hyeop
and Kim Young-Gwon swept
Saeed Khan/AFP
Son Heung-Min (right) says it’s far too early to talk about the title.
South Korea into their first
Asian Cup final since 1988,
when they lost to Saudi Arabia.
“I felt we dominated the
game,” said Son, thanking the
vocal “Red Devils” fans for their
support.”
South Korea have yet to
concede in five games on their
way to the final, but coach Uli
Stielike -- nicknamed the “stopper” during his playing days for
his dogged defensive qualities
-- acknowledged his side’s
stinginess could come back to
haunt them in the final.
“This situation can be very
dangerous,” said the former
West German international,
who spent eight years at Real
Madrid as a player after joining
the Spanish giants in 1977.
“It’s what happens when you
concede a goal and how you react that is important. You can’t
let the players get their heads
down. You have to be prepared
for that and have a reaction.”
South Korea captain Ki
Sung-Yueng admitted it was
difficult for the players not to
dream of winning the Asian Cup
after more than half-a-century of
bitter disappointment.
“Some parts of the game
were a little bit sloppy from us
but it was an amazing win,” the
Swansea City midfielder said
after seeing off Iraq. “This is a
great opportunity to become
champions.”
Agence France-Presse
by playing for army side
Sangmu Phoenix.
“The coach told me to just
play my game and relax when
we arrived in Australia,” Lee
told Korean reporters, after
netting his third goal in six
internationals.
“(Stielike) told me that
he would assume the responsibility for my performance -- good or bad.
He always helps me to play
with a relaxed mind, which
makes it easier for me to
play.”
With big-name forwards
Lee Dong-Gook and Kim
Shin-Wook
struggling
for fitness and Park Chuyoung also overlooked,
Lee’s cool reaction to his
baptism of fire has given
Stielike a huge boost after
injuries ended the involvement of influential pair Lee
Chung-Yong and midfielder
Koo Ja-Cheol.
A flu bug which swept
through the squad, flooring superstar Son HeungMin among others, also
tested Stielike’s resources
to the limit as he looks to
return South Korea to the
summit of Asian football
they occupied after reaching the 2002 World Cup
semi-finals.
“I don’t think I necessarily have a nose for the
goal,” Lee told South Korea’s Yonhap news agency.
“I often find myself on the
end of good crosses. As a
striker my job is to score
goals.”
Agence France-Presse