Hangzhou Asiad: Nur Shazrin has the wind in her sails

HANGZHOU - National sailor Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif is sitting pretty in top spot as she continued to shine on the second day of the women's ILCA 6 event in the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games here today.

The 25-year-old Olympian leads the standings with four penalty points after four rounds.

Nur Shazrin, however, ended the third round in second spot before a strong performance in the fourth round elevated her to the top spot at the Ningbo Xiangshan Sailing Centre, about 170 kilometres (km) from here.

That has put her on the right track to improving on her bronze medal achievement at the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang edition, provided she can keep the momentum going in the remaining eight rounds.

China's Gu Min stayed within striking distance in second spot with seven penalty points, followed by Singapore's Victoria Chan Jing Hua (nine penalty points).

"Yesterday and today's races were held in the rain, but Nur Shazrin managed to adapt quickly. If she can continue to improve on her performance, there is a good chance for her to win a medal,” said team manager Lawrence Yeow Eng Leong when contacted.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Fauzi Kaman Shah-Juni Karimah Noor Jamali were relegated from third spot in the mixed double-handed dinghy 470 event following a protest lodged by the South Korean combination of Kim Jia-Cho Sung Min, who claimed that they were not given ample space during gybing (changing course by swinging the sail across a following wind).

Muhammad Fauzi-Juni Karimah were initially placed third with nine penalty points following the completion of four rounds in the 12-round competition today. However, they dropped two spots after being handed an additional four penalty points following the protest.

Japan's Keiju Okada-Miho Yoshioka lead the way with three penalty points, followed closely by China's Dong Wenju-Wang Jingsa (six penalty points) and the South Koreans (12 penalty points).

In the women's windsurfing RS:X event, Tengku Nurani Ezaty Tengku Khairudeen remained in third place at the end of round six of the 14-round race.

She has accumulated 17 penalty points to be placed behind Hong Kong's Wai Yan Ngai and Thailand's two-time bronze medallist Siripon Kaewduang-Ngam, who both have seven penalty points. India's G. Ishwariya, with 18 penalty points, is also within striking distance of Tengku Nurani Ezaty.

However, 2018 Asiad silver medallist Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy is out of medal contention in the men's ILCA 7 event as he is currently in eighth spot with 16 penalty points after four rounds in the 12-round race.

The top three spots are occupied by India's S. Vishnu, Singapore's Ryan Lo Jun Han and South Korea's Ha Jee-Min, who have all accumulated seven penalty points. - BERNAMA