ACHING TO REPRESENT MALAYSIA
Professional race sailor Megat Ahmad Aslam Megat Azman is eyeing the prestigious American Cup, writes Zurinna Raja Adam
FOR sportsmen, winning a race is the big prize but the added kick is watching his country's flag being raised and the national anthem playing as he stands proudly on the winners' podium. But that is not the case for professional race sailor Megat Ahmad Aslam Megat Azman as the 23-year-old Malaysian is representing Australia's sailing team Alpha Racing Team, currently ranked No. 5 in the world for sailing in the under 23 years old category.
He trained at the National Sports School in Langkawi and represented Malaysia in a number of sailing competitions but found it hard to move forward in international competitions due to lack of support and funding.
After he led the Malaysian team to a fifth placing out of 12 participating countries at the 2014 Asia Pacific Cup, Megat Aslam was picked by Australia's Will Boelden (skipper for the champion team of the competition) to join his team, Alpha Racing Team, which is based at the Royal Fresh Waterbay in Perth.
Megat Aslam now travels every month to Perth for training and has since won several international competitions. Most recently, his team came in third at the DBS Marina Bay Cup 2016, beating Malaysia's sailing team Jeremy Khoo despite being tight on points.
The Alpha Racing Team also emerged second at the European Match Racing Championship at Lake Ledro, Italy in July this year.
An approximate cost for every competition is about RM50,000 which includes travel expenses, accommodation and crew of between three and six members.
"My uncle, Megat Azhar, who lives and works as a chef in the UK, has been helping me financially to pursue my sailing career professionally but this cannot continue forever. I am hopeful of getting more support from local sponsors," he says.
Megat Aslam currently works as a gym manager at the Everly Hotel in Putrajaya.
"I am, of course, honoured and proud to represent the Alpha Racing Team, winning race after race in the last few months. But deep inside my heart, I really hope to be able to represent my country and see the Jalur Gemilang raised one day at international regattas," he says.
SAILING START
Growing up, Megat Aslam was like any typical boy whose interest was football. But when he turned 12, he and a few friends started dabbling in sailing as their homes were located near the Marina Putrajaya water sports complex.
His coach encouraged him to take part in on a local regatta in Johor using a onesail dingy class boat, the Laser 4.7.
"That was an experience I will never forget. Marina Putrajaya is fresh water but the competition was in the open sea. It was something I had never experienced before. The waves, the currents and the huge winds were quite intimidating. I didn't even get to start the race when my boat capsized due to a huge storm. I drifted all the way to the border of Singapore and was asked to swim back to our shore by the border control officers. In the end, my coach came with the rescue team," he reminisced.
It was a rough start for an aspiring race sailor like Megat Aslam but he says it was "definitely a worthwhile experience".
He went on to form the Putrajaya Team with his other teammates and competed in local regattas. Three years later, he was selected for the national squad to sail the international 420 class dinghy with teammate, Mohamed Rabani. Their biggest achievement was winning third placing at the International Doha Regatta in 2009.
"I attended the National Sports School in Langkawi and was selected for the national reserved team. We train a lot but we didn't go for competitions that much. That was quite a dampening experience for me," Megat Aslam says.
MAKING THE MOVE
After his PMR exams, Megat Aslam joined his family in Brisbane, Australia, as his father was pursuing his PhD there.
"My father spoke to the principal of the school I attended there about my interest and experience in sailing and the principal recommended that I join the Queensland state team. That was the turning point. I resumed my love for sailing. I was taught new techniques and skills that I was not exposed to during training with the national squad," he says.
"The environment and exposure were very different from back home and the experience sealed the deal in my professional sailing career."
Megat Aslam then went on to further his tertiary education in Bachelor of Exercise Science at the Queensland University of Technology while working part-time as a maintenance man at the university to help fund his sailing interest.
But lack of funding saw him returning to Malaysia where he completed his degree in sports science at Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam while
“I really hope to be able to represent my country and see the Jalur Gemilang raised one day at international regattas."
Megat Ahmad Aslam Megat Azman
continuing to sail for the national squad.
Since he began competing under the Alpha Racing Team, Megat Aslam has taken part in five fleet racing competitions with four podium finishes.
HIS DREAM
"I want to represent Malaysia in the prestigious America Cup and win it," he says. A tall order but Megat Aslam thinks he can achieve if he is given the necessary support, financially or otherwise, to pursue his sailing interest further.
He aspires to be like his mentor, world number one professional race sailor Ian Williams from Britain, who is still active in international competitions. At 40, Williams not only continues to race but also imparts knowledge to young sailors.
"We have many good sailors that we can train to be professional world class race sailors due to our close proximity to the water. We had a good head start before with a number of local competitions that attracted international sailors," says Megat Aslam.
Adding, he says: "It is unfortunate that local yacht race competitions like Liga Layar Malaysia and Monsoon Cup have been cancelled this year. I hope once the economy recovers, these competitions will resume. Otherwise, it will be such a waste as there are many local talents out there."