AN OLYMPIC FRONT-ROW SEAT FOR SINGAPORE

Disappointment turns to disbelief for rower Aisyah in 6th as she earns 2,000m berth

- Kimberly Kwek

As Singaporean rower Saiyidah Aisyah emerged from her boat on April 21, the biggest day of her Olympic qualification campaign, she could not help but feel upset about how her race had gone.

Nerves got the better of her on Tangeum Lake in Chungju, South Korea, where the Asian and Oceanian Olympic Qualification Regatta was taking place.

She finished sixth in the A final of the women's single sculls in 7min 59.06sec, just shy of a top-five spot needed to seal a place at the July 26 Aug 11 Paris Games.

But as she headed for the shower, her coach Alan Bennett stopped her, telling her to go to the grandstand instead as she had qualified for the Olympics.

Within half an hour, her disappointment turned into disbelief as she received confirmation that she was heading for her second Games.

The 36-year-old had been bumped up to fifth after Japan's Shiho Yonekawa, who clocked 7min 35.93sec to finish second in the 2,000m race, was not awarded a quota spot.

The rules stipulate that Japan's maximum of two Olympic berths from this regatta will go to her compatriots, who won the lightweight men's and women's double sculls.