Latest news with #Games'
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Irfan Shamsuddin Eyes SEA Games Record in Bangkok
SEPANG: Coach Frank Petrovic has thrown down the gauntlet to national discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin, winner of six straight SEA Games gold medals, to break the regional Games' record in the upcoming Thailand edition in December. Petrovic feels that the regional Games would be the perfect setting for the 30-year-old athlete to carve another milestone in his glittering career, following his 58.82-metre (m) bronze medal effort at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Friday (May 30). 'We have two main targets (for him) this year. This (Asian Athletics Championships) was the first. Now, we will go through the competition season and then he will have to peak one more time at the end of the year in Bangkok. 'There (at the SEA Games), it appears very easy but there is a Games record to beat, (and) not just win (the gold medal),' he told reporters when met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 in Sepang, yesterday. The SEA Games discus record of 59.50m is held by former Singapore throw king James Wong Tuck Yim, which he set in the 1999 Brunei edition. Muhammad Irfan, though has a personal best of 62.55m (also the national record), which he set at the Austrian Athletics Championships in Linz, Austria in 2017. The Malaysian's season best is 60m, which he recorded at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Australia in March. For the record, Muhammad Irfan won his first SEA Games gold medal at the 2013 edition in Naypyidaw, Myanmar - a year after Petrovic started coaching him - before going on to emerge triumphant in the 2015 Singapore, 2017 Kuala Lumpur, 2019 Philippines and 2021 Hanoi and 2023 Phnom Penh editions. Elaborating, Petrovic hopes to see the tough training the Negeri Sembilan-born athlete has undergone this season bear fruit in competitions in Europe. 'In Europe, the competition season just started... you have many opportunities to show what shape you are in. So, it is the best time for Irfan to go to Europe, compete and achieve his targets,' said the Slovakian coach. The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand will be from Dec 9-20.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Coach Petrovic challenges Muhammad Irfan to break SEA Games discus record
SEPANG: Coach Frank Petrovic has thrown down the gauntlet to national discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin, winner of six straight SEA Games gold medals, to break the regional Games' record in the upcoming Thailand edition in December. Petrovic feels that the regional Games would be the perfect setting for the 30-year-old athlete to carve another milestone in his glittering career, following his 58.82-metre (m) bronze medal effort at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Friday (May 30). 'We have two main targets (for him) this year. This (Asian Athletics Championships) was the first. Now, we will go through the competition season and then he will have to peak one more time at the end of the year in Bangkok. 'There (at the SEA Games), it appears very easy but there is a Games record to beat, (and) not just win (the gold medal),' he told reporters when met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 in Sepang, yesterday. The SEA Games discus record of 59.50m is held by former Singapore throw king James Wong Tuck Yim, which he set in the 1999 Brunei edition. Muhammad Irfan, though has a personal best of 62.55m (also the national record), which he set at the Austrian Athletics Championships in Linz, Austria in 2017. The Malaysian's season best is 60m, which he recorded at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Australia in March. For the record, Muhammad Irfan won his first SEA Games gold medal at the 2013 edition in Naypyidaw, Myanmar - a year after Petrovic started coaching him - before going on to emerge triumphant in the 2015 Singapore, 2017 Kuala Lumpur, 2019 Philippines and 2021 Hanoi and 2023 Phnom Penh editions. Elaborating, Petrovic hopes to see the tough training the Negeri Sembilan-born athlete has undergone this season bear fruit in competitions in Europe. 'In Europe, the competition season just started... you have many opportunities to show what shape you are in. So, it is the best time for Irfan to go to Europe, compete and achieve his targets,' said the Slovakian coach. The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand will be from Dec 9-20.
The Sun
4 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Petrovic challenges Irfan to break SEA Games discus record
SEPANG: Coach Frank Petrovic has thrown down the gauntlet to national discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin, winner of six straight SEA Games gold medals, to break the regional Games' record in the upcoming Thailand edition in December. Petrovic feels that the regional Games would be the perfect setting for the 30-year-old athlete to carve another milestone in his glittering career, following his 58.82-metre (m) bronze medal effort at the 2025 Asian Athletics Championships in Gumi, South Korea, on Friday (May 30). 'We have two main targets (for him) this year. This (Asian Athletics Championships) was the first. Now, we will go through the competition season and then he will have to peak one more time at the end of the year in Bangkok. 'There (at the SEA Games), it appears very easy but there is a Games record to beat, (and) not just win (the gold medal),' he told reporters when met at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport Terminal 1 in Sepang, yesterday. The SEA Games discus record of 59.50m is held by former Singapore throw king James Wong Tuck Yim, which he set in the 1999 Brunei edition. Muhammad Irfan, though has a personal best of 62.55m (also the national record), which he set at the Austrian Athletics Championships in Linz, Austria in 2017. The Malaysian's season best is 60m, which he recorded at the Queensland Athletics Championships in Australia in March. For the record, Muhammad Irfan won his first SEA Games gold medal at the 2013 edition in Naypyidaw, Myanmar - a year after Petrovic started coaching him - before going on to emerge triumphant in the 2015 Singapore, 2017 Kuala Lumpur, 2019 Philippines and 2021 Hanoi and 2023 Phnom Penh editions. Elaborating, Petrovic hopes to see the tough training the Negeri Sembilan-born athlete has undergone this season bear fruit in competitions in Europe. 'In Europe, the competition season just started... you have many opportunities to show what shape you are in. So, it is the best time for Irfan to go to Europe, compete and achieve his targets,' said the Slovakian coach. The 2025 SEA Games in Thailand will be from Dec 9-20.
Straits Times
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Straits Times
Former pentathlete Shermaine Tung switches to kayaking for one last shot at glory
Shermaine Tung rediscovered her passion for canoeing while recovering from an injury. PHOTO: TEAM NILA Former pentathlete Shermaine Tung switches to kayaking for one last shot at glory SINGAPORE – Over the course of her 18-year sporting journey, Shermaine Tung has trained and competed in shooting, kayaking and pentathlon, which comprises five events – fencing, swimming, shooting, running and equestrian show jumping. With the clock ticking as she enters the twilight of her career, the 30-year-old former national pentathlete is aiming for one last shot at sporting glory as she returns to the kayak. The unexpected move happened in 2022, after she broke her back from falling off a horse. Feeling restless as she recovered from surgery, the break gave her room to rediscover her aptitude and love for kayaking. She said: 'I had to undergo back surgery and because of that, I actually had to stop horse riding entirely… It was quite a bad fall. 'When I was resting, I tried to give canoeing a go again, purely just for leisure. Then the current head coach told me to give it a shot, at competitive canoeing (kayaking). So I decided, why not? 'I came back purely because I love the sport.' Tung's sporting career began at the Singapore Sports School in 2007, when she trained and competed in shooting. Ahead of the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games, she took up modern pentathlon and despite not meeting the Games' age requirement, she continued training before moving on to kayaking in Singapore Polytechnic, which did not offer shooting or pentathlon. After graduating from university and hitting a plateau in kayaking, she returned to pentathlon and donned national colours, winning a bronze medal at the 2019 UIPM Biathle-Triathle World Championships in the United States. That same year, she won bronze at the SEA Games in the Philippines. Tung eventually quit the sport after the world championships in December 2023. Shermaine Tung is seen competing in shooting during her stint as a national pentathlete, PHOTO: UPIM WORLD PENTATHLON 'When I left pentathlon, I initially thought that I would stop competitive sports altogether, I just wanted to chill, keep fit, paddle for fun and not gain weight,' said Tung. 'But then I think I missed the competitiveness, and that was what made me try competitive sports again. I'll just give it all that I have to qualify for the SEA Games (in December) and ultimately the Asian Games next year. 'There's a lot of work to be done, because compared to my peers, I'm still quite far behind, and they are younger, so definitely they're improving at a much faster rate.' For this versatile athlete, choosing a preferred sport can be a challenge. Tung admitted that she misses the multi-discipline pentathlon sometimes, adding: 'I like running in general… And shooting, it's my strongest discipline out of all the five. 'But then training for five disciplines is actually quite hard when you're juggling a full-time job and furthermore, I was training alone, so that was really one of the main reasons why I left. 'I was quite tempted (to return) a few months ago, when they had the trials for the SEA Games. But it just so happened that it clashed with a canoeing trial and I really had to pick one.' With her focus now on kayaking, Tung quit her job as a marketing executive with Singapore Singapore's CoachSG department to train full time. She is now living off her savings and hopes to be carded as a national athlete again to 'to pour all my efforts and time into this one last shot that I have'. Noting that Tung had 'already quite good competency in the sport', national canoe coach Bill Lee, 39 said: 'As with every Olympic sport, especially our sport, which is a bit like swimming, both technical and also requires a lot of strength and endurance… It definitely requires time for you to see the hard work pay off. 'She may see it as one last effort, but she could surprise herself. It could potentially be even longer than just a short-term project, because she could achieve more in the sport and that could keep her going.' Tung recently competed in the Asian Canoeing Championships in China, and is pencilled in for the South-east Asian Canoeing Championships in Thailand in June. The SEA Games selection trial will be held a month later. While there are only four spots up for grabs for the Games in December, she said: 'Once I set my mind to go back to competitive sports, it's really my goal to achieve sport excellence in terms of winning medals. 'Because if I don't have the end goal in mind of winning, it will make it challenging to actually stay in sports because of how vigorous the training is and how taxing it is on the body and the mind. 'Yeah, so I have to really be mentally prepared that if I want to win, I have to go through this.' Melvyn Teoh is a sports journalist at The Straits Times. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Irish Examiner
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Irish Examiner
From Paris Olympics to water polo, Erin Riordan finding the joy in sport again
The iconic five rings are hard to miss on Erin Riordan's wrist. For a generation of Olympians, the tattoo has become a rite of passage. It's a symbol of a mountain climbed. What it doesn't, can't, say is how the peak was reached. Or what came next. Even the placement is interesting. Some get the Games' mark on their hip, or an ankle, or half-hidden on the inside of a bicep. Somewhere it will rarely be seen. Riordan's will catch her eye multiple times a day, but what does she think when she thinks of Paris? 'You do build it up in your head a little bit and then you get there and you're like, 'oh my goodness, the food is not nice, the hotel is not nice'. I got covid when I was over there. I was not well when I raced. 'I tested negative before I raced and I tested positive after I raced, so I got sent home immediately when I tested positive. You walk out and you're like, 'this is it, this is the moment'. And then you're also like, 'oh, this is it'. Two edges of a sword I guess.' Her visit to the French capital had already been shaped to no little degree by a lead-in of what she termed herself as peaks and troughs. In January she thought her opportunity had passed her by. By the spring she was back on track. A member of Ireland's 400m freestyle relay team, it looked as if they had missed the boat after being edged agonisingly into a ranking of 17th, one place outside the qualifying mark, on the back of the World Championships in Doha. Riordan had already fallen just short of Tokyo three years earlier so that, she thought, was that. She went to Portugal, where her mum lives, to 'grieve the loss', took up running and detached herself, mind and body, from her existence as a swimmer. SOMETHING IN THE WATER: Erin Riordan during Team Ireland Paris 2024 Aquatics team training. Pic: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile Then the call came that the Japanese would not be sending a quartet and Ireland had a green light. What followed was a scramble, mentally, physically and geographically, as she returned to Dublin and plugged back into the system. 'The few months leading up to Paris were probably the most emotionally strained I've been in my life. Along the way you kind of forget why you're doing it. It becomes, 'I want to make the Games, I want to do this', as opposed to, 'I used to love the sport'. 'And I used to love getting up at 5am.' She knew pre-Paris that the La Défense Arena would be the stage for her last ever swim. The idea of ever being in a pool again seemed anathema at one point, but then the thought of parking all that skill and experience struck home. She looked at triathlons and decided that, no, they didn't look much like fun. The other possibility was water polo, which wasn't a simple transition given she had never tried any team sports again. But try it she did. 'A bit humbling at the beginning, going from the Olympics to being the very worst on a team that has 14-year-old girls on it.' She laughs as that experience is shared, and that's the really important bit here. This, she explained, was fun. For so long her life has revolved around her sport. Now that was going to be reversed: she wasn't back from Paris a month before starting a full-time job as a documentation specialist at a pharmaceutical company in Dublin. Erin Riordan with St Vincents WPC teammates in the Irish Water Polo Senior Cup final versus Tribes WPC. Pic: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo A member of St Vincent's water polo club now, training is a twice weekly affair, and if the sheer physicality of what is renowned as one of the most physically demanding of Olympic sports is a challenge then it's one she's comfortable with. Maybe the hardest part of it all was the fact that St Vincent's are based at the National Aquatic Centre (NAC) in Abbotstown where she had spent so many hours doing so many laps of the 50m pool in what is now her former life. 'It's fine now but the first time I was walking in I was like - [shudders] - post-traumatic stress disorder from all the training. It's good now, I guess. It's kind of like home even though I didn't want to be there for a while.' She keeps in touch with her swimming friends and colleagues, and even bumps into a few of them at the NAC, but she smiles when she thinks of them ploughing through those six-kilometre sessions and one word comes to mind. 'Enjoy!' she laughs. Water polo isn't Riordan's only new pursuit. She has a marathon to run in Lisbon as well later this year so that's one foot in the pool, the other out. It's a different dynamic and, for her, a better balance.
