PETALING JAYA: Olympian and Asian Games double silver medalist Khairulnizam Mohd Afendy hopes everything will be smooth sailing for ‘’The Monsoon’’ in the inaugural Star Sailors League (SSL) Gold Cup.
Only the top two teams in the group will qualify for the final.
Malaysia’s team, nicknamed ‘The Monsoon’, will join India and South Africa in Group 7 of Round 5 at Lake Neuchate in Switzerland on Thursday.
China were supposed to compete in the same group as Malaysia, but were forced to withdraw due to their restrictions with a lockdown implemented in Beijing.
Khairulnizam said the crew had trained hard in Port Klang and Langkawi weeks before the qualifier.
“We’re targeting a top two finish in our group to qualify for the final. Most of the crew members have been training while I’ve been busy with the Olympic circuit,” said Khairulnizam.
They also spent a week in Hungary to train and bond. The team also had won the Class 1 title in the Raja Muda Selangor International Regatta (RMSIR) as part of the crew on ‘’Meraki’’.
“We have worked hard and competed in some tournaments too. We had one last push in Hungary where we trained for a week and gained some much-needed bonding and chemistry.
“Now, we’ll give it one final touch before the qualification series get underway. Hopefully, everything goes accordingly.”
In Group 8 are South Korea, Singapore, Thailand and Ukraine.
A total of 56 countries will compete and Malaysia are ranked in the 51st spot.
The final series will be held Bahrain in October where winners will be determined through knockout rounds.
The Monsoon is under the guidance of captain Megat Danial Megat Najmuddin, manager Nicky Teh Ben Aun, coach Rizal Mahadi Sazili and consultant coach Laurie Jury, and consists of 11 national sailors but only nine will sail during the competition at any one time.
Besides Khairulnizam (helmsman), the others are Mohd Faizal Norizan (tactician), Asri Azman (floater), Nuraisyah Jamil (mainsail trimmer), Ahmad Khairulhafiz Ahmad Khmbali (spare athlete), Mohd Uzair Amin Mohd Yusof (spare athlete), Ong Khong Shing (bowman), Ahmad Faizul Aswad Mohd (grinder), Ahmad Hakhimi Ahmad Shukri (trimmer), Mohd Amsyar Syahmi Mohd Ajwi (outside trimmer) and Mohd Azhar Sa’don Zubir (pitman).
