Asian Games 2018 - day two, bang on schedule

Asian Games, day 2. IND and JPN 49ers in an intense battle © Carmelita

Day 2 of the sailing competition at the Asian Games 2018 being held at Jakarta, Indonesia had a mixed bag of tricks for the 144 competitors as they completed another 3 races on schedule. With one third of the races being completed for all classes, it was a critical day in securing a lead. For the 49er, Laser Standard and Radial sailors it was another eventful day on the water – all of them battling to get up the leader board and into the top positions.

With a start time of 1200 (local time) and with warm sunny days here in Jakarta, it was always going to be a week where sea breezes would play some part in the racing. Unlike yesterday, the first races were held in light, marginal conditions whilst the last leg of the last races were in gusty 18 Kts of wind. This change in conditions throughout the racing had ensured that the sailors needed to change gears quickly and make the most of the building breeze and capitalise the most.

In the men’s 49er fleet, the pressure was very much on, as everyone knows that if you are in the wrong end, there is no chance of getting into the medal position – where if you are in the top half, the dream lives on. The Korean pair of CHAE BONJIN and KIM DONGWOK had a miserable outing today, finishing 10 (DNF), 4 and 4 in the three races. India’s KELAPANDA CHENGAPPA GANAPATHY and ASHOK THAKKAR VARUN have moved to the pole position and are followed by Japan’s FURUYA SHINGEN and HACHIYAMA SHINJI with a thin margin of 1 point separating them.

In the 49erFX, Singapore’s KIMBERLY MIN LIM and RUI QI CECILIA LOW once again remained undefeated in any of the three races today. They are followed by China’s XIAN HE and XUEBIN YU, India’s VARSHA GAUTHAM and SWETA SHERVEGAR and Thailand’s KAMONCHANOK KLAHAN and NICHAPA WAIWAI who are within striking distance of each other and it looks quite likely that the contest for the Silver and Bronze will be down to the wire and the outcome known only on 31st when the last races finish.

In the Laser Standard, Korea’s HA JEEMIN remains in the pole position. Singapore’s LO JUN HAN RYANhad a better outing today and has moved into the second place and is followed by Malaysia’s MOHD AFENDY KHAIRULNIZAM and a single point separates them.

Japan’s DOI MANAMI continues to dominate the Laser Radial with three more first position finishes today. She is followed by China’s ZHANG DONGSHUANG, Thailand’s CHANYIM KAMOLWAN, Malaysia’s MOHAMAD LATIF NUR SHAZRIN, and India’s KUMANAN NETHRA. There is protest hearing going on at the time of filing this report and the tables may change, we will update tomorrow morning.

In the Laser 4.7 China’s WANG JIANXIONG leads the fleet and is followed by Malaysia’s KAMAN SHAH MUHAMMAD FAUZI. India’s BAIRAGI GOVIND had a good outing today, having got over the poor finishes yesterday and has moved into third place.

In the RS:X Men, China’s BI KUN continued his dominance. He leads the fleet with a good cushion separating him from the second placed Korea’s LEE TAEHOON and Hong Kong’s CHENG CHUN LEUNG MICHAEL is in the third position.

In the RS:X Women, it is once again China’s CHEN PEINA who is in the pole position with 1 more first place finish. She is followed by Hong Kong’s CHAN HEI MAN HAYLEY VICTORIA and Thailand’s KAEWDUANG NGAM SIRIPON.

In the RS One Team event, it is once again the Chinese windsurfers who are out to prove their mettle. The contest seems to be between China, Hong Kong, Indonesia and Malaysia for the top three positions in this event.

The 470 Men and Women fleets saw no major upsets today with Japanese and Chinese sailors dominating in both the events.

There are another three races scheduled on Thursday for all classes, except the RS One which will go for the Relay Race in the afternoon. The forecast is for a hotter day and will certainly reflect on the sailors as they work their way towards the medals and especially those in the Laser Standard and Radial who are aiming to qualify for Tokyo 2020.

Results: http://www.asiansailing.org/asian-games-2018-sailing-competition-day-2/