KUALA LUMPUR, 5 JUNE 2014 - Yayasan Sime Darby’s (YSD) tradition of promoting the diverse arena of sports has been further energised with its sponsorship for Malaysian sailing champion, Jeremy Koo and his team.

YSD is pledging RM490,000 for a year to support the team’s participation in more than 16 competitions across Asia. The sponsorship is in line with the foundation’s mission to fund sports-related training programmes or competitions which will serve as springboards for individuals and teams to accomplish their goals. As part of the sponsorship, the sailing team is now known as the Sime Darby Foundation – Koo Racing Team (SDF-KRT).

Announcing the partnership, Yatela Zainal Abidin, Chief Executive Officer of YSD said, “YSD encourages the nation’s top sporting talents to further excel in their respective field and bring pride to the nation with their accomplishments.”

“Our support for Jeremy and his team hopefully will help to further boost their performance and rankings in the international arena of sailing. We have seen The Sime Darby Foundation – Koo Racing team (SDF-KRT) in action and they possess nerves of steel and the passion not just to win but to raise the standard of the sport to a higher level,” she added.

The team’s skipper, Jeremy, said with YSD’s funding, the team could now focus fully on the competitions instead of trying to raise funds.

“We are truly grateful to YSD for coming on board as our main sponsor. Although we have been performing well in regattas, we have been struggling to raise funds to compete as the prize money is not enough to cover costs.”

“With YSD’s support, we will not only be able to compete in local and international regattas but also race against higher ranking teams, giving us much needed exposure and creating tests of skills for the team. This will help with our pursuit of the gold medal in the Asian Games 2014 in Incheon, Korea this September,” Jeremy said.

Jeremy was in high spirits after clinching the 4th place, competing against some of the top ranked racing luminaries in the recently concluded 1010 4G Match Racing Series 2013/2014 held at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club from 16 to 18 May 2014. The prestigious race saw SDF-KRT racing against the likes of quadruple world champion Ian Williams from Britain and 13th ranked Australian skipper David Gilmour for a crack at the title. The encouraging results will definitely be an advantage to Jeremy’s cumulative ranking points. As of May 2014, Jeremy’s ranking shot up to 38 in the world; the best ever in his sailing career in the Match Racing category.

32-year old Jeremy said,” This race was exciting and demanded so much physical preparation. We were racing against some of the best sailors in the world and it was a nail-biting finish for the third and fourth placing. This experience has taught us that nothing is impossible and we are going to continue pushing the sails as far as we can.”

Next on the schedule for the SDF-KRT team would be the 3rd Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Cup Match Racing 2014 in Yeosu, South Korea from 12 June to 15 June. Besides participating in international races, SDF-KRT is also actively competing in the Liga Layar Malaysia (LLM) 2014, a local match racing circuit organised to improve the skills of local athletes participating in bigger international matches.

As a result of their two consecutive wins in Langkawi and Lumut, Jeremy and his mates have been touted as the ones to watch to represent Malaysia in the Monsoon Cup 2014, an important leg of the Alpari World Match Racing Tour (AWMRT) circuit slated to be held in November this year.

These competitions will serve as tune-ups for SDF-KRT’s preparations for a successful outing at the 17th Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea from 19 September to 4 October. The team aims to bring home a gold medal from this year’s Asian Games.

Apart from sailing, other sports funded under YSD’s Youth & Sports pillar include cricket, cycling, golf, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowling, swimming, and tennis. YSD’s current pledge to the development of sporting talents in Malaysia includes the support for the 2016 Rio Olympic gold medal quests of national track cyclists Azizulhasni Awang and Fatehah Mustapha and also the Malaysian Hockey Confederation (MHC) national men’s and women’s senior hockey teams. YSD also funds the National Cricket Development Plan conducted by the Malay Cricket Association of Malaysia (MCAM) to develop and introduce youths to the game and form elite teams regardless of race, religion and background.