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Ka Tung eyes hat-trick win BorneoPost Online | Borneo , Malaysia, Sarawak Daily News » Sports - New 2 Borneo

Ka Tung eyes hat-trick win

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:08 AM PDT

Sibu ace gunning for third straight victory in Sarawak Amateur Open

KUCHING: Defending champion Lee Ka Tung is going all out to defend his title in the 45th Sarawak Amateur Open Golf Championship 2014 which started at Damai Golf and Country Club (DGCC) yesterday.

Lee, who won the event in 2013 and 2012, is hoping to bring home the coveted Datuk Amar James Wong Kim Min Challenge Trophy for good this time round and all he has to do is to keep the other contenders at bay.

Other pretenders to the title are none other than his own brothers, Kah Ming who is representing Sarawak Golf Club, Lee Ka Siong and Lee Kah Ching – the reigning Sibu Open champion from Miri and the elder Ka Tiong from Bintulu Golf Club.

Last year's Merdeka Cup champion Lau Chin Leong from Sibu Golf Club is also another golf ace trying to bag his first title of the year while club mate Wong Tung Ann and Albert Chiong from Sabah Golf Association are no pushovers.

"This will be my first major event of the year and I feel alright having so many top local golfers competing for the same title … I think it is good for the competition," said the modest handicap one golfer who had won the title for a record eight times.

Even though the DGCC fairways and the greens conditions are much slower than what he had expected, Lee is still comfortable playing there and his confidence is sky high after winning the recent annual Kinabalu Golf Club (KGC) Golf Open Championship in Sabah on March 18.

Yesterday's opening day of competition saw light rain welcoming the over 90 golfers from Sarawak, Sabah, the Philippines and West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The 26th Sarawak Amateur Ladies Open Golf Championship also tee-ed off yesterday with young golfers from Sarawak, Sabah and the Philippines vying for top honours.

The 36 golfers with the lowest gross scores over the first 36 holes will qualify for the event's final round while the 12 ladies with the lowest gross scores over the 36 holes will qualify for the final round tomorrow.

Apart from the two challenge trophies up for grabs, there will be 12 prizes offered in the top golfers in the men's gross over 54 holes while in the Ladies' gross category there will be five prizes offered.

There will be six prizes for the top golfers in the men's nett over 36 holes and three prizes in the Ladies' nett category.

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Samarahan, Kuching in final showdown today

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:07 AM PDT

by Ting Tieng Hee, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on April 26, 2014, Saturday

KUCHING: Samarahan are looking to register their fifth straight victory in the Girls U18 competition of the Sarawak Schools Sports Council (MSSS) Hockey Championships when they face arch rival Kuching in the final today.

As expected, the tournament favourites Samarahan cruised to an easy 7-0 win over Bintulu in the semi-finals yesterday.

Suhaila Sata started Samarahan's goal feast when she scored a field goal in the 2nd minute and 17 minutes later, her teammate Shahrulrina Entering etched her name on the score sheet with a goal from a penalty corner.

The score was 2-0 at half-time and Suhaila went on to score three more goals in the 30th minute (field goal), 45th and 48 minutes (penalty corner goals).

The other two goals were scored by Marsiana Sian in the 30th minute (field goal) and Anastasia Runis in the 38th minute via a penalty corner.

Samarahan, comprising mostly of players from SMK Tebakang and the rest from SMK Balai Ringin and SMK Muara Tuang, are coached by Joseph Glundy Galau.

"We are going for the fifth consecutive win in the championships," he declared after the match.

Pleased with the girls' performance, Joseph added that they are getting better and better.

"We did not have any centralised training but the girls did play in the Samarahan Inter-District Hockey Championship recently where SMK Tebakang emerged champions," he said.

He said Samarahan will not be taking Kuching lightly as the final match is always the toughest match to play. Kuching booked their place in today's final by beating an improved Mukah team 4-1 in the other semi-final.

In the Boys U18 competition, Samarahan boosted their chances of lifting the title when they trounced Betong 7-0 to sit comfortably on the top of the league standings with nine points from three successive wins.

Kuching also posted a big win yesterday, blanking Bintulu 5-0 in another match.

They can also be crowned the champions if they can overcome the challenge of Samarahan in today's cruncher scheduled at 2pm.

The Boys U12 title will also be decided today when Kuching take on defending champions Sibu in their final league match.

Kuching District Education Officer Dr Sluhi Lamat @ Narawi will close the event and give away the prizes.

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CMAA Lion Dance team finish third at Thailand International Championship

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:06 AM PDT

KUCHING: The Chinese Martial Art Association (CMAA) Lion Dance team did Sarawak proud by emerging third at the Thailand International Traditional Lion Dance Championships held on April 20 in Sungai Golok, Kolok District, Thailand.

Team manager Calvin Kong said drawn as the first team to perform at the competition, the team consisting Aaron Chen, Liew You Kui, Wong Sing Yew, Adonis Law, Nicholas Jong, Si Chia Hong and Tan Kit Sheng put up a performance that belied their ages and experience to chalk up 8.75 points that was good enough for third placing behind two other teams from Singapore but ahead of the other teams from Malaysia, Indonesia and hosts Thailand.

Team coaches are Vincent Thong and Nelson Nguang.

The youthful CMAA Lion Dance team had certainly gone a long way from finishing third place in the national level NTV7 Challenge Cup in Johor Bahru and runners-up in the Miri Invitational Championship last year.

They are expected to see action again at the 2nd Sarawak JingYing Challenge Cup to be held on May 2-3 at the Kenyalang Park Community Hall, Kuching in the High Pole category.

CMAA president Chester Lim is full of praise for the team that kept the state flag flying high in Thailand.

He said invaluable exposure and experience are gained and the coaches will set up improvised a training programme that will serve to push the team to the next level.

Lim also expressed appreciation for the strong support from the Sarawak Youth and Sports Department and Sarawak Dragon-Lion Dance & Wushu Association.

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SMK Tunaz, SMK Matang Jaya sweep boys and girls titles

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:05 AM PDT

by Ting Tieng Hee, reporters@theborneopost.com. Posted on April 26, 2014, Saturday

KUCHING: SMK Tunaz and SMK Matang Jaya dominated the MSSM Kuching Inter-School Kabbadi Championship at SMK Batu Lintang yesterday by sweeping the boys and girls titles.

SMK Tunaz captured the Boys U18 and Boys U15 titles while SMK Matang Jaya were double winners when they won both the Girls U18 and Girls U15 competitions.

In a thrilling finale to the Boys U18 yesterday, SMK Tunaz B led SMK Pending 18-16 in the first half before they were held to a 32-32 draw at full-time.

However, they prevailed in the tie-breaker to edge SMK Pending 5-4 to walk away with the title.

Third and fourth were SMK Matang Jaya B and SMK Tunaz A respectively.

In the Boys U15 final played earlier, SMK Tunaz B defeated SMK Tunaz A 33-18.

SMK Matang Jaya came in third while SMK Pending finished fourth.

In the Girls U15 competition, SMK Matang Jaya B beat SMK Matang Jaya A 40-15, SMK Green Road 24-19 and SMK Pending 29-4 to win the title.

As for the three-team Girls U18 competition, SMK Matang Jaya A were crowned champions after beating SMK Green Road 32-27 and SMK Pending 27-16.

SMK Matang Jaya claimed further honours when Normaliza Abd Malek was adjudged the best Girls U18 player, Marianne Joshua the best Gilrs U15 player and Mohd Azrey the best Boys U15 player.

The best Boys U18 player was Mohd Hafiz Ubaidillah from SMK Tunaz.

Nineteen teams from four schools took part in the competition from April 23-25.

The championship was jointly organised by MSSM Kuching, Sarawak Kabbadi Association while the sponsors were Bank Rakyat Padawan branch and Nestle.

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‘Australia’s Rocky’ Leapai out to shock Klitschko

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:04 AM PDT

BERLIN: Heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko has dubbed Alex Leapai "Australia's Rocky" ahead of today's world title bout when the challenger tries to complete his rags to riches tale.

Leapai sat behind bars in the high-security wing of a north Brisbane jail around the time Klitschko won his first world title in 2006, but now the 34-year-old will box for the champion's WBA, IBF, WBO and IBO belts in Oberhausen, Germany, today.

A bar fight saw the Samoan-born Leapai jailed for six months, "that time still haunts me today".

What he gives away in 15cm of height, he is determined to make up for with passion and commitment.

"I'm here to make history," says Leapai. "I want people in 100 years to remember that a Samoan-born Aussie came out of nowhere and beat one of the best heavyweights of all time.

"It's been a long road to get to this stage but I will make sure the long ride has been worth it."

He earned the right to fight Klitschko by defeating WBO mandatory challenger Denis Boystov in Germany last November and now has the chance to become Australia's first world heavyweight champion.

Leapai has a 30-4-3 career record since turning professional in 2004, while the 38-year-old Klitschko is 61-3 with 51 knock-outs.

Klitschko's last defeat was a decade ago after suffering a technical knock-out in Las Vegas against Lamon Brewster on April 10, 2004.

Leapai is the overwhelming underdog, but at 112kg, the Australian has the size to at least trouble the champion.

"He is the underdog — but he can also bite," Klitschko told German daily Bild recently. "Leapai will try and beat me with pure violence."

Klitschko has questioned Leapai's technique and tactics.

"He's Australia's Rocky. He's lacking the experience and I'll use that against him," said the champion.

But the Australian is determined to knock the Ukrainian from the top of world boxing.

"I have proved that he was just a man like any other — with two legs and a heartbeat," says Leapai.

"It is time for a change of ruler in the heavyweight division and I'm the type of fighter everyone has been waiting for."

In the bout's build-up, Leapai was told how to win by a disgruntled former sparring partner of Klitschko.

Sherman Williams told German daily Die Welt that he discovered during the recent Austrian training camp that the champion hates taking body shots and advised Leapai to exploit that.

"Hit him with left and right shots to the body and then hit him on the chin with the right," said the US-based Williams.

"I guarantee that if Alex fights the way I tell him to, Klitschko will throw his arms around like an octopus… and Australia will have a new world champion."

Leapai has said he will be inspired by Australia and New Zealand's ANZAC Day, to commemorate their soldiers killed in battle, which falls on Sunday, the day after the fight.

But Klitschko has said he has no intention of relinquishing his belt and wants to box on for at least another four years to break Joe Louis' world record of 12 years as the longest reigning heavyweight champion.

"I'll demonstrate that I'm the strongest boxer in the world. My mission isn't over yet," said Klitschko. — AFP

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Phelps falls to Lochte in first final of comeback

Posted: 25 Apr 2014 09:03 AM PDT

MESA, United States: Michael Phelps finished second on Thursday in his first final in 20 months, and the swimming superstar famous for his will to win said even a runner-up finish is fun now.

Phelps, whose record 22 Olympic medals include an astonishing 18 golds, was beaten in the 100m butterfly final at the Mesa Grand Prix by his old foe Ryan Lochte.

But Phelps said he'd done what he set out to do in his first competition since the London Games.

Lochte led at the 50m mark and held on to win in 51.93sec — second-fastest in the world this year — while Phelps was second in 52.13, matching the fourth-fastest time of 2014.

"I did what I wanted to do," said Phelps, adding he'd targeted a time of 52 seconds.

"The race was fun," he added. "The stroke was a little rushed tonight, it was way more relaxed this morning. But I swam a final again."

Lochte, not known as a 100m fly swimmer, said Phelps, as always, made him better.

"I probably wouldn't have gone that time if Phelps wasn't in there," Lochte said. "I'm glad he's back."

Phelps insists he isn't yet sure if his comeback will take him to a fifth Games at Rio in 2016.

"This is one meet, it's one race," Phelps said. "It's a long way whether I decide to continue or not. I'm doing this because I'm having fun, I'm just enjoying myself on this road, this process, this journey."

But news of his comeback sparked a sell-out at every session of this week's meet at the 1,200-capacity Skyline Aquatic Center in suburban Phoenix, Arizona.

Phelps's fellow swimmers were as thrilled as fans to see him back on the blocks. That was particularly true of Lochte, who has had some memorable duels with his Olympic teammate.

"Racing against Michael is probably the hardest thing to do," Lochte said. "I love it.

"Him leaving, it kind of broke my heart a little. Racing against him is so much fun."

Phelps had made it look easy in posting the fastest time of the heats, although he said his pre-race butterflies recalled his age-group days.

By the time the final rolled around Phelps had his familiar game face on, seemingly oblivious to the cheers of the crowd.

"I was more serious tonight than I was this morning," Phelps said. "I knew what I wanted to do."

He wasn't too quick off the blocks, and said his turn was "probably the worst" of his career.

Coach Bob Bowman — who agreed about the turn — said the technical glitches could be fixed.

"I think that's a really good time to start with," Bowman said of Phelps's performance in an event in which he is the world record-holder and three-time reigning Olympic champion.

"It's totally expected," Bowman said of the mistakes. "He hadn't been in a race in two years until this morning… his timing was a little off at the start, then he scrambled to catch up, then he missed a stroke. By the time he got going it was kind of over."

Mostly Bowman is happy to see Phelps's enthusiasm for racing, and the excitement his presence in the meet has generated.

"It's fun to have him here. It's fun to see what he brought to the sport, and that's really what he wants to do… as long as he's enjoying it like he is, it's good for everybody." — AFP

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