PHNOM PENH, May 13 — The 2023 SEA Games men’s 100 metres (m) bronze winner Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi urged the public, especially netizens, not to compare himself and Khairul Hafiz Jantan with national sprint champion Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi.
Muhammad Haiqal reminded himself and Khairul Hafiz to pay attention to the public’s view of their abilities on the track because each athlete has their own strengths and performance.
“Every human being has their own advantages. Muhammad Azeem certainly has his own talent and we also have our own,” he said when met here.
Yesterday, Muhammad Haiqal clinched bronze in 10.443s to edge out Khairul Hafiz who clocked 10.448s to settle for fourth place on the last day of athletics at this biennial Games.
Thailand’s Soraoat Dapbang was crowned Southeast Asia’s new sprint king when he did 10.37 seconds (s) and was only 0.02s ahead of Singapore’s Marc Brian Louis, who clocked 10.39s for the silver medal.
Although Khairul Hafiz performed quite well after being hampered by injury problems, Muhammad Haiqal hopes that his friend will return stronger.
Muhammad Azeem’s name has been mentioned as the new jewel of the country’s athletics after he broke the national record in the 100m event with a time of 10.09s at the World Junior Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia, last August.
Meanwhile, Khairul Hafiz revealed that he almost retired last year after failing to qualify for the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
However, the athlete from Melaka said national sprint coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim managed to convince him not to retire so that he could be listed again to line up the 4x100m quartet that brought home bronze at the SEA Games this time.
In the meantime, national men’s 400m runner, Abdul Wafiy Roslan, the success of Umar Osman and Shereen Samson Vallabouy who each won the men’s and women’s individual (400m) events while the success of the men’s quartet in bringing home the bronze has opened the eyes of the Malaysian Athletics Federation Association (MAF) to focus on these events.
Abdul Wafiy along with Umar and two other runners, Muhammad Firdaus Mohamad Zemi and S. Tarshan, posted three minutes and 08.82 seconds (s) to clinch the bronze, thus ending a medal drought after Malaysia last won a medal in the event in the 2013 edition in Myanmar, also a bronze.
On Tuesday, Umar, 20, not only won gold but also created a sensation when the 20-year-old runner set a new national record of 46.34 seconds (s), thus erasing the old record of 46.41s belonging to Mohd Zaiful Zainal Abidin, set at the Asian Junior Athletics Championships in Brunei in July 2001.
Umar’s success saw him end a 14-year gold drought which was last won by Zafril Zuslaini in the 2009 edition in Vientiane, Laos.
Shereen, who is also the national record holder, recorded a time of 52.53s, clinching gold in the women’s category, thus breaking the dominance of four-time champion, Nguyen Thi Huyen from Vietnam (53.27s) who took silver, while the bronze belonged to her compatriot, Nguyen Thi Hang ( 53.84s).
Shereen, on the other hand, placed Malaysia at the top of the women’s 400m podium at the SEA Games after N. Manimagalay last won it in the 1999 edition in Brunei.
— Bernama
