Nov 29:
OLYMPIAN and 2004 Sportswoman of The Year Elaine Teo could be the first casualty of the AsiaComm 2006 Special Project squad after she was ditched in the first round of taekwondo's women's bantamweight category at the Cuneta Astrodome in Manila yesterday.
The Sea Games is the benchmark to gauge the progress of the AsiaComm elite athletes, comprising 138 of the country's top athletes, and Elaine's failure to even land a medal may cause her a place in the squad.
While officials from the National Sports Council, and even Sports Minister Datuk Azalina Othman Said, have repeatedly said that performance, more than medals, is what counts in Manila, Elaine's case is slightly different.
Elaine was beaten 2-1 by Vietnam's Le Thi Thu Nguyet in the first round of the competition. Even Azalina was concerned.
"The Sea Games is the benchmark for athletes in the AsiaComm 2006 project, and we will review their performances in these Games," said Azalina.
"After this, the programmes will also be reviewed, and if they (AsiaComm management team) feel that the athletes are unable to perform, they will be dropped from the squad."
In taekwondo, Elaine and Chee Chew Chan are the two athletes in the AsiaComm programme and were expected to deliver medals at next year's Melbourne Commonwealth Games or Doha Asian Games.
In fact, team officials, with the support of the National Sports Council (NSC) and Olympic Council of Malaysia, had gone to the extent of "forcing" Noornadia Norrizan, who was the sole Malaysian to win a gold — in the bantamweight category — in the Asean Championships last year, to compete in a lighter weight category to accommodate Elaine.
However, on a happier note, Mohamed Afifuddin Omar Sidek bagged a bronze in the men's bantamweight, going down 4-2 to Philippines' Tshomlee Go in the semi-finals.
Source from http://www.nst.com.my
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