KUALA LUMPUR — As Sasha Christian came into the Singapore tent after winning the women’s slalom gold, Mark Leong got up to give his team-mate and close friend a congratulatory hug.

“Shh,” she replied, before telling him to sit down and concentrate – for he had his own slalom final coming up 45 minutes later.

There was no cause for concern though as Leong went on to defend his SEA Games crown at the Putrajaya Water Complex, making it double joy for Singapore on the final morning of the waterski competition.

The 19-year-old had won the event two years ago on his Games debut, while Christian also took her first slalom gold then after winning silver in 2011 when the sport was first introduced.

“We train and do a lot of things together, it’s nerve-wracking watching someone so close to you compete on the water and I (always) feel like my heart is beating so fast,” she said. 

“I watched Mark ski from the first pass and he looked so confident and natural on the water, I knew he was going to be fine. 

“Seeing him secure the gold, I’m so proud of him, he’s a fantastic skier and person as well.”

Christian posted an impressive performance to win her third consecutive wakeboard gold on Saturday (Aug 26), but the 24-year-old admitted that she still felt the butterflies in her stomach before the slalom final on Tuesday (Aug 29).

Prior to that, she had set a new Games record of 1.00/55/12.00 – clearing one buoy at 55kmh while holding on to a 12-metre line – on Monday in the preliminaries to qualify for the finals and headed into the race as the last of seven competitors to ski, meaning she knew exactly what was needed to win.

That requirement was to top 14-year-old Malaysian prodigy Aaliyah Yoong’s score of 2.00/55/13.00 – and Christian did not disappoint, raising her arms in triumph after rounding 3.5 buoys at the same speed and line to win Singapore’s 50th gold of the Games.

“I was very nervous coming into the finals today,” she said. “There was a lot of pressure on my side (as) in terms of comparing slalom skiing and wakeboarding, I’m more confident in my wakeboarding so I can’t tell you how happy I am to have won today. 

“Today I tried to tune out the external factors and just get into my own zone and think of what I needed to do, rather than think of going out to beat someone.

“I’m really, really happy.”

Christian praised Aaliyah’s performance, saying the latter would only get better but welcomed the competition as she believes it will help raise the region’s standards as a whole.

Leong was equally delighted to remain peerless on the waters as he posted 3.00/8/13.00 to beat Indonesian Indra Hardinata (1.50/58/13.00) for gold.

The reigning Asian champion had equalled his own Games record of 4.00/58/12.00 in the preliminaries but like Christian, Leong went last and the gameplan was just to do whatever was required to win. 

“Today I felt really good about my performance, I’m really happy it turned out the way it did,” he said. “Right before the final, I was a little bit nervous, but it’s natural because it happens in every competition.

“I was thinking about my preliminary score yesterday because it showed that I could top everyone

“It is surreal because my dad told me it’s impressive if you get a gold but more impressive if you can defend it, and that gave me more motivation to put in the constant work over two years.”

Christian, who only returned to training in January following a six-month injury lay-off, is looking forward to a short two-week break before her next competition in the Middle East in September. 

Following that, she will head to the United States for a month for intense wakeboard training – her “true love” – as she gears up for the world championships next February.

She hopes to be back to defend her crown in two years’ time, adding: “I hope to fly the flag high as long as I can.”

It will be back to the books for Leong, a student at Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), as he resumes his preliminary exams. 

“I did bring my homework along, but didn’t have time to do it over the past few days!” he laughed.