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No sweeter victory: Singapore’s sailing team earns qualification for Beijing!

By Jeff Ang

The quest for the coveted 5 remaining qualification slots for the Two-Person Keelboat category of the impending Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games saw participation from a competitive line-up of 8 teams including Singapore, Great Britain, Portugal and China. This was the first time that Singapore held a sailing world championship of this magnitude.

The championship kicked off to a rousing start with the Official Opening Ceremony held at the Grand Mercure Roxy Singapore Hotel. However, the friendliness witnessed during the Opening Ceremony was quickly transformed into fierce rivalry once the sailors hit the waters off SAF Yacht Club, Changi, where the world championship was held.

The first day of sailing saw host sailors, Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim dominate proceedings. They won the first two races in convincing fashion with their knowledge of local waters benefiting them. Team Singapore started the second day of competition with more of the same, finishing nearly 40 seconds ahead of second placed China. Team Portugal finished in third place, painting a familiar picture of things to come as these three teams continued to dominate the championship for the following races.

Singapore suffered a minor setback when they could not complete the second race of the day with a suspected technical issue with their boat. However, they still managed to close the day at the top of the pile, level on points with Bento Amaral and Luisa Silvano from Portugal.

Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim started brightly again on the third day of racing, posting a second place finish in the 6th race of the championship. However, their form dipped drastically with a 6th and 5th place finish in the next two races. Their position on the boards fell to a precarious 3rd position while the consistent Team China ascended to the summit of the rankings. Singapore at this point looked close to be losing the script, as well as in risk of missing out on the prize money for the top three teams, courtesy of Neptune Orient Lines.

Team Singapore made a near miraculous recovery in terms of form on the last day of the championship. With a top 3 finish in each of the last three races of the championship, they clawed their way back to the top of the rankings. In the tightest of finishes, Singapore and China remained locked on equal points at the end of the scheduled 11 races. Singapore only managed to edge out China for the world champion’s title by virtue of an additional first place finish. Due to favourable weather conditions, the championship races managed to be completed one day ahead of schedule.

In the tightest and possibly most stylish fashion, Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim have helped Singapore qualify for the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games.

Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim race to first place at IFDS World SKUD18 Championships Jovin Tan and Desiree Lim posted a grand finale for Singapore as they sailed to the world champion title in the SKUD18 class.