National Schools Track and Field C’ships: A new Stefan Tseng in the making?

It looks like Russian coach Valeri Obidko has done it again.

After producing the likes of national-record breaking jumpers like Stefan Tseng and Matthew Goh – who should both be in the mix for a SEA Games medal at next year’s Games now that their national service commitments are over – it looks like the national jumps coach has another jumping gem on his hands.

The boy’s name is Benjamin Ong, and this afternoon, the 16-year-old Singapore Sports School student served notice of his potential as the future successor to Stefan by breaking the 21-year-old B Boys triple jump record at the National Schools Track and Field Championships.

Benjamin’s best effort of 14.42m obliterated the 14.19m record set in 1991 by Huang Jiaping of Chinese High (now known as Hwa Chong Institution), and was 0.80m further than nearest rival and schoolmate Muhd Afiq Hasan (13.62m).

While it is clear that Benjamin has the talent and potential to go far, to call him the next Stefan Tseng could be a little off the mark – for now.

It must be remembered that Stefan was already clearing 15m at age 16. In fact, he broke the national triple jump record of 15.24m back in July 2006, when he was 16. He did it at the Asean Schools Championships in Chiangmai when he cleared 15.52m.

I’m waiting to see if Benjamin can clear the 15m mark by this year, and whether he can go near the 15m distances that Stefan was setting back then. I hope he can, and it will definitely be exciting to watch.

Today’s action at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium produced another stunning result: Eugenia Tan, the teammate and arch-rival of rising sprint star Shanti Pereira, threw down the gauntlet at her good friend in the best way possible – by finishing ahead of Shanti in the B Girls 100m semi-final, and breaking her B Girls record which she only set last year.

Eugenia clocked 12.39sec to break the record of 12.43sec, and finish 0.31sec ahead of Shanti who finished second in 12.68sec.

It remains to be seen whether Shanti was playing possum today, holding back a fair bit in her tank for next week’s final. Whatever the case, it means that we are set for a thrilling showdown in the B Girls 100m next week.

Eugenia’s feat also means that Shanti saw two of her national schools records being wiped out in the space of one week. Last week, it was the Sports School’s Nur Izlyn Zaini who erased her 2010 C Girls 100m record of 12.74sec by clocking 12.73sec in the heats.

Finally, heartiest congratulations too to Cedar Girls’ Low Seow Ting for equalling the C Girls high jump record. She cleared 1.55m, which is the same height as the prevailing record set by See Toh Mun Yee in 1994.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

 

Matthew Goh could have been a potential bronze medallist at the IAAF World Juniors

The men’s long jump final at the ongoing IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, was concluded last night.

South Africa’s Luvo Manyonga won it with 7.99m. Eusebio Caraces of Spain was second with 7.90m while Stewart Taylor of Canada took the bronze with 7.63m.

You can read their post-competition interviews here

It makes you wonder whether young Matthew Goh could have snared a podium finsih if he had been allowed to defer his national service and take part in the World Juniors.

After all, he did set his national record of 7.62m at last December’s South-east Asia Games, and under national jumps coach Valeri Obidko, has been known to improve on his distances by 0.2m every year.

Matthew’s father did appeal for his son to be allowed to compete at the World Juniros and to enlist for national service after that, but Mindef turned it down because “the circumstances were not exceptional to warrant granting of deferment.”

You can read Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean’s response to Nominated Member of Parliament Joscelin Yeo on Mindef’s reasons for not granting Matthew’s request for a three-month deferment here.

Yes, one can always argue that one can never tell if Matthew can set a new national record at the World Juniors, or even finish among the top-three. But then again, I wouldn’t have bet against him doing so given his annual rate of improvement, and the young man’s steely determination.

This is another example of us shooting ourselves in the foot when it comes to Singapore sports. We will never know until we try, and yet we are not willing to give it a try.

And I guess this is why Singapore sport can never go far.

And when we fail to reach the heights, we lament, beat our breasts and complain that our sportsmen don’t have the hunger or the talent. And then we proceed to flood our sports with foreign exports.

And when these naturalised citizens go on to win top honours, and when the general public doesn’t quite share in the manufactured joy, the authorities then slam the people for being ungracious, and for failing to recognise the sacrficies and hard work that these naturalised citizens have put in to achieve sporting glory for Singapore.

Well, I am sure Matthew was also willing top put in the sacrifices and hours of hard work too.

He just wasn’t given the chance because “the circumstances were not exceptional enough to warrant the granting of deferment”.

Bollocks.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan

Shanti, Eugenia, Zachary and Zhi Xuan shine brightest on last day of National Schools C’ships

Shanti Pereira, Eugenia Tan and Zachary Devaraj produced stunning record-breaking performances today to provide a fitting end to an exciting National Schools Track and Field Championships.

Singapore Sports School sprinters Shanti and Eugenia, who are coached by Pedro Acuna,  had a day to remember as they both cracked the Girls C Division 100m record and played a role in helping their school to set a new 4x100m relay mark.

However, it will be Shanti’s name in the record books as the new holder of the 100m mark.

The 14-year-old blazed the track at the Choa Chu Kang Stadium to clock 12.75sec in the 100m final, slicing 0.08sec off the prevailing record of 12.83sec. Schoolmate Eugenia also went under the record as she clocked 12.81sec to finish second.

Both Shanti and Eugenia were also part of the 4x100m relay team that set a new record of 49.67sec to smash the 50.53sec record. Incidentally, that record was also set by the Sports School back in 2004.

The duo then grabbed their second relay gold medal when they starred in the 4x400m relay. Although they did their best, the quartet’s time of 4min 13.31sec was just off the record of 4:12.84, also set by the Sports School in 2004.

Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) distance runner Zachary Devaraj broke an 11-year-old B Boys record as he stormed home in 4:12.61sec, more than a second faster than the 4:14.13 that Kannan Poobalan set in 1999 in Victoria School’s colours.

The 16-year-old collected his second distance record at the Championships today after slaying the 14-year-old 800m record  of 1:58.38 last Thursday with his effort of 1:57.34.

The ACS (I) 4x100m quartet was also in magnificent record-breaking form today. They clocked 42.58sec to break the 11-year-old mark of 43.14sec which was also set by the school in 1999.

The most significant new record, in my humble opinion, was set by Cedar Girls’ Chan Zhi Xuan. She hurled her discus to a distance of 37.94m in the B Girls final to crack Wan Lay Chi’s meet and Schools National record of 37.25m.

Stunning stuff.

As Lay Chi has gone on to represent Singapore at the SEA Games, it means that Zhi Xuan definitely has the talent and potential to do the same eventually if she decides to continue in the discipline. I do hope she will.

Can you imagine what a wonderful sight it would be to see two local-born female throwers in action for us at the SEA Games?

As it is, it was a proud moment for me as a long-time observer of Singapore athletics to see fresh young talents Matthew Goh and Stefan Tseng jumping at last year’s SEA Games. 

Back to the National Schools Championships. It seems that a totalof 18 championship records and six schools national records were set at this year’s meet (I say ‘it seems’ because I counted 18 while the website says 16. I wonder what’s causing the discrepancy.)

My  heartiest congratulations to all the record-breakers. May this spur you on to greater heights. Hopefully, we will get to see some of you representing Singapore at the SEA Games one day.

Yours in sport

Singapore Sports Fan