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Asian X Games Qualifier and Junior X Games presented by TOYOTA

Asian X Athletes Battle It Out For Spots At The Asian X Games Qualifier & Disney Channel/ESPN Junior X Games presented by TOYOTA Phuket, Thailand 3-10 December 2000

18 October 2000 SINGAPORE: For the past three months Asia's sports scene has been turned upside down as the region's top extreme athletes defied gravity at the Asian Xtour presented by TOYOTA.

Competitions were held in Bangkok (12-14 August), Taipei (9-10 September) and Singapore (8-9 October) to select competitors for the Asian X Games Qualifier and Disney Channel/ESPN Junior X Games presented by TOYOTA. (Athletes from other Asian nations will be selected on the basis of their country rankings.) To be held in Phuket, Thailand from 3-10 December, 2000, these events will involve athletes from Southeast Asia, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Australia. Winners from the main competition qualify for ESPN's summer X Games 2001.

Xtour Bangkok (12-14 August)

The first stop on the Xtour was Bangkok, the epicentre of extreme sports in Asia. Thailand is a sports-mad nation to begin with and having hosted the AXQ for the past two years Thais are pretty knowledgable about extreme sports. That may explain the enormous crowd that gathered to cheer on the competitors.

A record 148 skateboarders took their turn on the purpose-built course, but it was the controlled mayhem of Thibbodee Kamrai's (27) run that impressed the judges and put him in first spot. And in the bicycle stunt (park) event, winner Somsak Senglee (23) ate up the course with an almost faultless run and the flair of a born showman.

But it was man-of-the-moment, aggressive in-line skater Jeerasak Tassorn, who showed why Thailand is hot hot hot when it comes to extreme sports. This 19-year-old skated his way to victory at last year's AXQ and a week after this event made his international debut at the 2000 summer X Games, finishing fifth in the aggressive in-line skating (park) event.

Giving their "big brothers" plenty to worry about, a number of the Junior X entrants placed well in the Main X categories. Watch out for Worapoj Boonnium (14). After winning the Junior X aggressive in-line skating (park) he picked up the bronze in the Main X.

Xtour Taipei (9-10 September)

Three typhoons and an earthquake couldn't dampen the excitement as Taipei's first taste of the X Games got under way. Despite the foul weather, the enthusiastic crowd who stuck around witnessed some impressive moves from a field of 185 competitors. In the skateboarding (park) event, Kang Ze Wei's (18) razor-sharp grinds took him all the way to first place - and kept him there. In Junior X 14-year-old Chen Ein Ji displayed a maturity that put him well above his competition and gave him the top spot.

The aggressive in-line skating (park) event was closely fought as athletes pulled all the tricks out of the bag, but at the end of the day Chen Chi Chuan's (25) speed and consistent performance earned him big points, as did his smooth grinds on the coping lips. In the Junior X edition, Jacob B Whalen's (14) solid grinds and big airs, landed him 20 points higher than his nearest opponent.

Smashing the record for the youngest X athletes to compete in an X Games event were aggressive in-liners Hou Bo Hong (6) and He Ren Jie (5). These pint-sized competitors may be lacking in the height department, but they finished in 14th and 15th places respectively.

The bicycle stunt categories - flatland and park - that provided the most spectacular viewing. Liao Wu Hsiung, aka Ah Hsiung (28) put his 19 years of experience to superb effect, pulling off a perfect 360° in the Main X park competition. And the Tour's first female competitors, Zhong Jia Rong (13) and Zhen Ming Jin (8) booked appointments at Phuket in the park and flatland categories respectively.

Xtour Singapore (8-9 October)

There was no contest for crowd favourite at the Singapore Xtour: six-year-old Mohd Farris earned huge applause for his gutsy attack on a course at least four times his height. The kindergarten student had to be assisted up the ramps, yet his focus and control saw him place 18th in the Junior X skateboarding (park) final. Showmanship obviously runs in the family; big brother Firdus' (14) double-board transition stunt saw him cruise into fourth place and a berth at Phuket.

Proving it's not gonna lie down and die anytime soon, old school came out on top in the Main X skateboarding (park) final. A resurgence of classic tricks was accompanied by the return to the winners' podium of legendary local board-meister, Sulaiman "Man Toyol" Ahmed (26). Joining him in Phuket will be "Boy" Faizal (19), who nailed top spot with a benny hanna followed by a 360° flip on the banks.

Competitors in the bicycle stunt categories had added incentive to pull out all the stops - Schwinn Toyota Bicycle Stunt Team pros Sean Peters and Koji Kraft were on hand to show them how it's really done. Sean's flatland exhibition was unbelievable; his lightening-fast spins and rock-solid technical tricks demonstrated an almost eerie degree of balance and control. Teammate Koji showed how he earned the moniker, "Loose Cannon", as he careened around the park course, pulling off trademark 360° boomerangs with contemptuous ease.

Ng Chee Keong (17) chipped a tooth - goofing around with his buddies off course. But that didn't stop him from turning in an impressive run to win the Main X bicycle stunt park final with a run that simply outclassed the opposition.

Aggressive in-line skating (park) produced the event's sole female competitor, Claire Louise Jedrek (18). With her newly-dyed red hair, she was the rose among the thorns and placed a respectable 13th. But it was Team USD that dominated. Fa Zuly (19), Lewis Lee (18) and Felix Huang (19) all made it to Phuket, although fellow crew-member, Shahrizal "Jutt" Amat (21) was a shock omission from the top five. With a solid resume of 360s, 540s and old school classics, these guys showed how they keep winning local events.

At Phuket last year, the Thais, the Japanese and the Australians dominated. But twelve months is a long time, and the rest of the kids from Asia know what they are up against this time. Will we see some upsets? Any new heroes emerge? Don't miss the next installment - the 2000 Asian X Games Qualifier and 2000 Disney Channel/ESPN Junior X Games (presented by TOYOTA) to find out.

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