CONFIDENCE THE KEY FOR SAILORS

S'poreans win 3 golds, drawing on experiences from previous editions to edge out their rivals

- Kimberly Kwek Sports Correspondent

What was meant to be a routine competition in the lead-up to the SEA Games took an unexpected turn for national optimist sailor Ethan Chia in early November.

While competing at the Regatta of Champions in Cyprus, the 15-year-old was struck by acute appendicitis and had to undergo surgery.

The Raffles Institution student said: “I was quite lucky that the appendicitis occurred quite early and it was not much closer to SEA Games. Furthermore, healthcare (in Cyprus) was good.

“I was definitely worried but I just wanted to work with what I had at the moment and try to recover as soon as possible.”

The teenager was still able to go for a SEA Games pre-event at the Sattahip coastal area in Chonburi a few days after he returned from Cyprus. While he did not sail, he still went out on a boat to analyse the races.

Despite the ordeal, Ethan recovered well and delivered a gold-medal performance at the Samud-ara Klia Yachting Centre in Chonburi, scoring 15 points in 10 races from Dec 10-14 to edge out Thailand's Adison Ein (26) and Malaysia's Yaasin Syahrizan (27).