Rower Aisyah in race to qualify for Olympics

SINGAPORE — National rower Saiyidah Aisyah, who is aiming to qualify for the 2016 Olympics in the women’s 2,000m singles sculls, still has a fair bit of work to do if she wants to clinch her ticket to the 2016 Rio Olympics at next April’s Asian & Oceania Continental Qualification Regatta.

So said her personal coach Alan Bennett following the 27-year-old’s results at last weekend’s Asian Rowing Championships in Beijing, China.

Competing in the singles sculls 2,000m (open weight) finals for the first time in four years, Aisyah finished last in a field of six in 8min 16.95sec. She had clocked 8:19.04 in the heats to qualify for the finals.

China’s Jingli Duan won the final in 7:39.24, while Indonesia’s Dewi Yuliawati (7:46.88) and Iran’s Mahsa Javar (7:49.96) came second and third respectively.

Speaking to TODAY, Bennett, who trains Aisyah in Sydney where the rower is based, said the results show that she is some distance behind her competitors with less than six months to go to next April’s regatta in South Korea, which is the sole qualifying event for the Olympics.

The top seven rowers in that event will book their tickets to Rio de Janeiro.

While acknowledging that Aisyah, a double bronze medallist at the 2015 SEA Games in June in the 1,000m and 500m lightweight singles sculls, had only started training in the open weight category of the 2000m single sculls — an Olympic event — after the SEA Games, Bennett said: “I’m not satisfied with the performance and neither is Aisyah. The results show that she is behind her competition and she just needs to focus on the process. On her return (to Sydney), the focus will be upon being consistent in training and building robustness on and off the water.

“She will attend the club summer training camp during January and then race in the domestic circuit, which will include the New South Wales State Championships and the Australian championships in March next year.

“Aisyah is very focused on achieving her dream and is prepared to make any changes that may be required on route to get there.”

Added Aisyah: “Now I know where I stand, and what I need to do to be faster... I thought I could have done much better definitely based on the timings I’ve been hitting for training. This is when race experience is essential.

“I can’t wait to start training again. The racing season in Sydney is just starting as well.”