SINGAPORE — It was a scorching hot afternoon at the Tampines Bike Park yesterday, which was probably why it was also fitting that the riders from the Land of the Rising Sun ended up dominating the 8th Asian BMX Championships.

Japan showed why it is a force in the sport when its riders bagged seven of the 12 titles at stake yesterday.

But the happiest competitor of all had to be Daniel Caluag of the Philippines. The 26-year-old Filipino-American won the biggest prize of the Championships when he triumphed in the Men’s Elite category, the main event of the tournament.

Caluag, who is Asia’s top-ranked BMX rider and the only Asian to make the BMX field at last year’s London Olympics, was simply too fast in all his laps in the lead-up to the final yesterday as he left his competitors eating his dust in the 355m-long course.

The speed demon eventually clocked 29.951sec in the final, ahead of Japan’s Tatsumi Matsushita (30.306sec) and Jukia Yoshimura (30.448sec) who finished second and third respectively.

“The race went well. I won all my laps and I cannot ask for anything better,” said Caluag. “I knew that the rest were all going to be fast and I am happy that I could put together a solid lap in the main event ... I had a great time here and I would love to come back with my wife and explore the city. It is a beautiful country.”

Singapore’s Mohd Sallehin Abdul Rakim reached the semi-finals of the competition before he was eliminated. He was happy though just to be able to compete with Asia’s best and is hoping to compete in this year’s South-east Asian Games.

China’s Ma Liyun won the Women’s Elite category, while Japan’s Kohei Yoshii and Haruka Seko won the Men’s Junior and Women’s Junior categories, respectively.

Caluag added that it would be sad to see the Tampines Bike Park “disappear”. “The track you have is one of the best tracks in Asia,” he said, referring to talk that the park, which also hosted the BMX competition for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games, is slated for redevelopment.

It appears, however, that there is some good news for Singapore riders for now. “We have heard, unofficially, that the bike park will be open until 2014,” said Singapore Cycling Federation President Suhaimi Said.

“It is a blessing that we can keep the park for one more year. It is the only place for us to train for the SEA Games. Now that we know the level of the competition, we know what to work towards,” said Mohd Sallehin.