Malaysian sailors Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz (left) and Mohamad Hafizudin Mazelan pack their clothes before leaving to participate in the Incheon Asian Games
PUTRAJAYA: Teenage sailor Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz fears no one but himself as he seeks to deliver a gold medal in the Incheon Asian Games.
“I hope I don’t make any silly mistakes in sailing competition in Incheon ... as it could dash my hopes of nailing the gold medal,” said the 18-year-old from Selangor, who defied windy conditions and sailors from other countries to win the International 420 class in the pre-Asian Games in Incheon in July.
Ahmad, who is coached by Mohd Shahir Abdul Rahim and will be making his Asiad debut, has made tremendous progress since taking up the sport nine years ago.
“This has been a fruitful year ... I’ve done well in international competitions and won medals in the International 420 class,” said Ahmad, who also won a gold at the Myanmar SEA Games last December.
“I was delighted to win the gold in the pre-Asiad. My goal is to win the gold in the Incheon Asian Games.”
Ahmad has indeed been in top form – winning the silver medal in the International 420 at the World Youth Championships in Portugal at the end of July and finishing a creditable fifth in the World Championships in Germany last month.
Apart from fearing his own fallibility, he is also wary of the “windy conditions, which could be a real challenge for me in open sea”.
Sailing has never failed to deliver a medal at the Asian Games since Ryan Tan’s golden feat in the boys’ Optimist event in Hiroshima in 1994.
Rufina Tan became the second Malaysian gold medallist when she won the Optimist event in Doha in 2006.
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