KUALA LUMPUR: SSL Team Malaysia, nicknamed The Monsoon, bowed out of the SSL Gold Cup with their heads held high after coming within a whisker of entering the semi-finals in Gran Canaria recently.
Despite losing narrowly to France's Les Blues, the national keelboat team won the respect of friends and foes for having demonstrated true grit and great team work throughout their adventure on the Atlantic Ocean, as they finished 10th overall in a competition acclaimed as the World Cup of sailing.
With Great Britain's Spitfires in dominant form since day one of the competition, they cruised through to the semi-finals, while the real battle in Fleet 1 of the quarter-finals (1/4) elimination round was between France and Malaysia for the second last four qualifying spot.
There was nothing to separate them with The Monsoon going into the final double points race just one point ahead of the French.
Unfortunately for Malaysia, France inflicted a penalty on them in the pre-start for what was deemed dangerous sailing, hence The Monsoon started late on port.
With the Spitfires in their customary lead, Malaysia put in an early gybe on the first downwind leg, a sailing manoeuvre used to alter the course where the sails move from one side of the boat to the other, which required the crew to work together with clear instructions from the helmsman.
As Spitfires recorded a perfect 20 for winning all their four races in Fleet 1, Malaysia gybed away in a desperate move to overtake Les Bleus, but the French held strong to finish second in the race and seal qualification to the semi-finals.
Earlier the national keelboat team advanced to the quarter-finals by topping Fleet 1 in the top eight elimination rounds, pulling a major upset over higher-ranked nations, the United States (ranked No. 4 in the SSL world rankings) and Argentina (No. 20).
"We are proud to be among the top 10 in the world," an insistent team captain Megat Danial Megat Najmuddin said.
"In the quarter-finals, we took on the might of Great Britain (No. 2 in the world), France (No. 6) and Denmark (No. 7). With Great Britain a notch higher, we gave the French a run for their money.
"We are indeed happy to have made it this far. We have met our target of finishing among the top 20 nations."
Although upset with the decision to penalise the team in the pre-start on the final day, Megat Danial said the team can take heart for their top 10 finish.
"We wish to thank our sponsors and partners, including The Monsoon's Royal Patron, His Highness Tengku Amir Shah Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Malaysian Sailing Association (MSA) and Berjaya Group for having faith in the team," said Megat Danial.
The Monsoon was represented by Khairulnizam Mohd Affendy as helmsman, aided by tactician and Hangzhou Asian Games gold medallist Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif, Ahmad Faizul Aswad Mohamed (grinder), Ahmad Hakhimi Ahmad Shukri (trimmer), Ahmad Khairulhafiz Mohd Khmbali, (offside trimmer), Mohd Azhar Sadon Zubir (pitman), Uzair Amin Mohd Yusof (mainsail trimmer), Mohd Akiyuddin Mat Zaki (floater) and Mohd Saifullah Mohd Esa (bowman). The two reserves are Mohd Amsyar Syahmi Mohd Ajwi (spare trimmer) and Rizal Mahadi Sazili (spare floater).
Two sailors who were earlier part of the crew — Ahmad Syukri Abdul Aziz (offside trimmer) and Asri Azman (floater) — had to return to Malaysia earlier due to other commitments.