YOG 2010: Martin pays the price for sluggish qualifying

From Tom Reynolds, Sportsbeat, in Singapore

 CANOEIST Andrew Martin admitted the buck stops with him after failing to get onto the podium at the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore.

BOWING OUT: A slow qualifying time sees Andrew Martin crash out to the eventful champion in the quarter-finals in Singapore (Singapore Press Holdings)

The 17-year-old - the 2009 English K1 junior champion - labored into the quarter-finals on Tuesday but was convinced he would put things right in his last-eight contest.

But having produced one of the slowest times in qualifying for the quarter-finals, Martin new his route to the medals mix-up would be a tough one and he was ruthlessly dispatched by Slovenia's Simon Brus.

It was Brus who went on to claim gold and Martin admits that having been forced to go up against him so early, he has no-one to blame but himself.

 "I do think back to yesterday and the earlier qualifying rounds because if I had been quicker in those then I wouldn't have ended up having to race against Simon," said Martin.

"I do feel like if I hadn't been up against Simon in the quarter-finals then I would have had a chance of getting a medal so that is really frustrating.

"He is the world junior silver medallist so it was always going to be hard.  But I am gutted because when I came here I had set myself a goal of getting further than the last eight and I felt like I could have done it."

Martin was no match for the eventual gold medallist in the last-eight showdown with the Slovenian finishing nearly ten seconds clear.

But despite his Singapore adventure ended on a sour note Martin was quick to point to the positives of his Far East experience.

"My coach said to me at the end, ‘how many people can say that they finished in the top eight at a Youth Olympic Games' and even though I am disappointed now I am pleased with the way the competition   has gone," added Martin.

"Singapore as a whole has been so fantastic and an amazing experience and I have loved it.

"I have learned a lot from it and there has just been so many good things that I've experienced it's been amazing."

  Lloyds TSB, proud partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and supporter of Team GB on their journey to the 2010 Singapore Youth Olympic Games. Visit LloydsTSB.com/London2012