Romzi gives hope for first Asiad medal

PETALING JAYA: Sailor Mohd Romzi Mohamad showed that he is on the right track to aim for a first-ever Asian Games medal after staging an impressive comeback to clinch the silver medal in the Laser Radial Open class at the Australian Open in Adelaide on Monday.

The 2007 Korat SEA Games gold medallist finished fifth in the last race and managed to overtake Franklin Benjamin of Australia for second place overall.

Romzi garnered 43 points from a total of 11 races while the Australian had two points more to settle for the bronze.

Singapore’s Koh Seng Leong, who finished second in the final race, was the runaway winner on 11 points. Seng Leong was the silver medallist in the same discipline at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

Mohd Afendy Khairulnizam, who was the second Malaysian to qualify for the Gold fleet, managed to secure 12th place overall on 63 points.

It was a hard fought competition on the final day of sailing after strong winds put paid to his hopes of chasing the leader over the weekend.

Romzi unceremoniously slipped from second to eighth spot after two races more on Sunday as the Singaporean maintained a steady course to keep his lead.

Despite this, Romzi managed to win Race 1 and 4 and his latest efforts in what is one of the top sailing events in Australia will surely bolster his confidence as he leads Malaysia’s sailing charge at the Guangzhou Asian Games in November.

A medal will erase the disappointment of his Asiad debut in Doha where he failed to hold on after starting the final race in second position. He finished the race in fifth place to take fourth place.