Confident Amposta vows better stint in canoeing

DOHA — For an athlete making his Asian Games debut, Marvin Amposta is full of confidence and hope that he would perform better than expected when competitions in canoe-kayak is held beginning on Saturday here.

"I plan to race well and finish with a good time," said the youthful Amposta, who nevertheless found the climate in this cool emirate not to his liking when he joined the other bets from Japan and Indonesia in the training Wednesday morning.

"I feel very cold and not comfortable because I am not used to wind and this kind of training area," said the pride of Abucay, Bataan.

But make no mistake about it. Amposta is ready and raring to go, confident of a creditable performance on the salty waters of West Bay Lagoon.

"It will not affect me as I have trained in salt water back home," he said.

But it is in the Olympics where he has trained his sights on this early in his career.

"I want to qualify and race in the Olympic Games," said the 19-year-old racer, full of promise and hope. — Dante Navarro