B Div 800m: Dhashman Thangavelu puts Regent on the map with 2:01 win

By Romaine Soh/Red Sports

Dhashman Thangavelu (#572, second from right) of Regent eventually finished first in 02:01.19. Abdul Riyaz (#300) of St Andrew’s finished third in 02:04.58 after he was edged out by Dai Nan Tian (#515) of Hwa Chong who finished just 0.01s ahead of him. (Photo © Les Tan/Red Sports)

Choa Chu Kang Stadium, Wednesday, April 10, 2013 — Dhashman Thangavelu put Regent Secondary on the map when he won the B Division 800 metres gold at the 54th National Schools Track and Field Championships. He stopped the clock at 2 minutes 1 second to give Regent its first medal at the championships.

The win was all the more significant, since Regent Secondary does not have a track and field team. Dhashman is coached by his father, Thangavelu, who won the 1,500m gold in the 1991 SEA Games for Malaysia. Subsequently, he won another gold in the 1993 SEA Games, this time for the 800m.

Dai Nan Tian of Hwa Chong Institution beat Abdul Riyaz of St Andrew’s Secondary to the line by a mere 0.01s, leaving Riyaz to settle for the bronze. Both of them stopped the clock at 2:04.

Riyaz had boldly taken the lead in the first round, completing the first lap in a lightning fast 58s. This would have been on track for a timing of 1:56.

However, with 250m to go, the lactic started to take its toll on Riyaz. Dhashman capitalised on this to burst into the front, after which he was untouchable.

Nan Tian, Sean Chua of Singapore Sports School and Paul Simmy of Anglo-Chinese School (Independent) then came from behind to challenge the slowing Riyaz to the finish line. Riyaz was able to dig into his reserves to propel himself to the bronze, with his challengers finishing within one second of each other.

With the two competitors who beat him last year having graduated from the B Division, Dhashman was the most experienced among his competitors.

“I feel that I’m better in the shorter distances,” admitted Dhashman, who placed third in the recent National Schools Cross Country. Dhashman won the B Division 800m bronze last year with a time of 2:03.

Riyaz expressed remorse over his costly mistake. “I felt good at the start, and I was placed in the outer lane, so I had no idea what the ideal pace was.”

The top five will feature in the 1,500m event.

“I will not make the same mistake again,” was an ultimatum issued by Riyaz.

B Boys 800m Results
1st Dhashman Thangavelu (Regent Secondary, #572) — 02:01.19
2nd Dai Nan Tian (Hwa Chong Institution, #515) — 02:04.57
3rd Abdul Riyaz (St Andrew’s Secondary, #300) — 02:04.58
4th Sean Chua Chi Hin (Singapore Sports School, #111) — 02:04.64
5th Paul Simmy (Anglo-Chinese School (Independent), #147) — 02:04.75
6th Cavin Christopher Peter (Deyi Secondary, #32) — 02:05.86
7th Ng Guan Zhi (St Joseph’s Institution, #328) —02:06.54
8th Tan Yu Xiang (Hwa Chong Institution, #549) — 02:06.97
9th Muhammad Sufiyan B Mohamad (Woodlands Secondary, #119) — 02:07.12
10th Muhammad Hasif B Jemain (St Joseph’s Institution, #325) — 02:07.34
11th Lim Wan Hao Mark Llewellyn (Catholic High, #177) — 02:08.43
12th Muahammad Shahizam Bin Rasid (Peirce Secondary, #241) — 02:08.88
13th Gary Wee Wei Zong (Singapore Sports School, #98) — 02:10.05
14th Divyan Nair (Deyi Secondary, #34) — 02:12.16
15th Gerald Soh Kian Zhang (Chung Cheng High (Main), #358) — 02:12.68
16th Elisha Goh Si Yuan (Raffles Institution, #270) — 02:13.28