BallOfSpray

Muscat, Oman: Finishing fifth in a field of 11 – behind a 1-2-3 medal sweep for super power China – might be enough to satisfy many athletes from around Asia. But not Aaliyah Yoong Hanifah, who wanted much more – even at seven years old!

“I am not happy,” said the Malaysian tiny tot, after finishing fifth in the women’s tricks event of the water skiing competition at Barr Al Jissah on Wednesday afternoon.

“I want to be a world-class skier so I have to practise a lot more.”

In this respect she has an advantage, as her father runs a water skiing business at Putrajaya.

“My whole family does it, and I like it because it is challenging and exciting,” she adds. “I train for one hour a day, sometimes two, and I also like watching videos of water skiing tricks in the evenings.”

Aaliyah is small, even for her age, and it took some courage and strength to tackle the choppy seas. For the marathon swimming at the same venue earlier in the Beach Games, the sea was calm and flat, but a stiff breeze churned up the water for the skiers and resulted in some tumbling crashes.

China completed a 1-2-3 and Malaysia followed with a 4-5-6. Aaliyah’s older half-sister, Phillipa Yoong was fourth. Aged 32, Phillipa is the honorary secretary and national coach of the Malaysian Water Ski and Wakeboard Federation (MWWF), so is in a good position to comment on Aaliyah and two young teammates, Hadi Irfan Mohammad Rahaizah (aged 10) and Hanis Azemi (12).

“I am really scared that people will start to belittle the sport, but just because they are young does not mean they are any less talented,” says Phillipa.

“What they have accomplished in one year may take four or five years for some other skiers. For Aaliyah it is about the sheer frequency of training because her father owns a water skiing business so she is there every day. The other two come down three times a week.”

With no age restrictions in the sport, the MWWF received clearance from the Olympic Council of Malaysia to enter the youngsters, after checking their performances in international competitions.

Aaliyah has been water skiing since she was five and started tricks only this year. The family receive special permission from the education ministry to take her out of her government school at Bandar Seri Putra to compete in major events, and 2011 promises to be a busy year with the famous Moomba Masters on the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia, in March, the World Championships in Russia in July, the Asian Championships at home in Putrajaya in October and the SEA Games in Indonesia in November.

The Muscat experience had been invaluable for the Malaysian team, and Phillipa Yoong thanks the Olympic Council of Asia for accepting the sport. “We are really very grateful to be in this OCA event for the first time; to be part of this is a big deal,” she says.

Source http://www.ocasia.org/News/IndexNewsRM.aspx?redirect=1592&NT=G