Don’t bet on Thailand just yet

SINGAPORE — Having relinquished their crown at the SEA Games only once in the past 15 years, it is no surprise that Thailand’s men’s 4x100m relay team are overwhelming favourites to continue their dominance at this year’s SEA Games. But Singapore national coach (sprints and hurdles) Luis Felipe Cunha is not about to subscribe to that view just yet.

With this year’s SEA Games to be held at home, this could be the Singaporeans’ best chance of finally ending a heartbreaking run of successive near misses in the past three editions and clinching that long-awaited maiden men’s 4x100m relay gold medal.

Though coy about his team’s chances, Cunha believes they can give the Thais a run for their money at the National Stadium. “There is a word ‘possible’ in sport, and of course, it is possible,” he said. “This is a goal that is completely normal to have for this team. If another country does 38.50secs, then it’s going to be very difficult to win. It all depends (on how the other teams perform).”

But Cunha, 50, knows his charges must better their own national record of 39.45 if they were to dethrone the Thais, who are the region’s traditional kingpins in athletics.

Last year, Thailand’s Ruttanapon Sowan, Aphisit Promkaew, Jirapong Meenapra and Kritsada Namsuwan posted the season’s fifth-fastest time in Asia when they clocked 39.08 at the Asian Games in Incheon. Singapore’s Calvin Kang, Gary Yeo, Lee Cheng Wei and Muhammad Elfi Mustapa were ranked eighth after a time of 39.47 in Incheon, only 0.02sec off their national record set in May 2013.

Cunha, who joined the Singapore Athletic Association (SAA) last November, has been tasked with “polishing” the athletes ahead of the SEA Games, with the SAA this time targeting a top-three finish among their South-east Asian rivals.

A team of 13 athletes will head to Brisbane and Sydney next month for a two-week training and competition camp, where they will compete in the Queensland Open Athletics Championships and Sydney Track Classic.

The group will include the men’s 4x100m relay team, as well as up-and-coming sprinter Shanti Pereira — who holds the national records in the women’s 100m and 200m — 2013 SEA Games bronze medallist (400m hurdles) Dipna Lim-Prasad, and Zubin Percy Muncherji (men’s 400m).

Added Cunha: “I’m in the process of getting to know the athletes, and the goal is to prepare them in the best way possible for the SEA Games … I need to know their behaviour in competition and see what are the things they need to improve on, as there are some things you see only in competition.”

A former sprinter, Cunha represented Portugal at three Olympic Games in 1988, 1992 and 1996, before retiring to serve as head coach of sprints and relays at the Portugese Athletics Federation.

The father of two calls next month’s 77th Singapore Open Track and Field Championships (March 28 to 29) a big test for the Singaporean athletics contingent. Held at the Sports Hub, the event — which is also the final qualifier for the Singapore athletes — will feature the best athletes in the region, alongside those from countries such as Taiwan and Japan.

South-east Asian rivals Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia are expected to field their SEA Games squads, and SAA general manager Yazeen Buhari said yesterday: “We will use this platform to see where our training stands. It also gives us an indication of where our opponents are at.”

Added Cunha: “This is the first competition for me (as head coach). I think the Sports Hub is a magnificent venue for athletes. This will be a ‘little SEA Games’ for them.”