PETALING JAYA, July 18 — National discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin will receive a reward from the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) following his bronze medal success at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok on Saturday (July 15).
However, its president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said MAF will announce the form of remuneration that Muhammad Irfan will receive later, after appearing as the only national athlete to contribute a medal at the competition held at Suphachalasai National Stadium.
“It is certain (remuneration for Muhammad Irfan), the form will be announced later,” he said at the 2022 National Sports Awards yesterday evening.
Muhammad Irfan recorded his best throw of 59.63 metres out of six attempts to claim bronze while the gold went to China’s Abuduaini Tuergong (61.19m) and the silver to Kuwaiti Eissa Zankawi (60.23m).
Shahidan is also optimistic that some of the country’s athletes who performed impressively to reach the finals of their events at the Bangkok competition that ended on Sunday (July 17), including sprint champion Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi, will rise to shine at the 2023 Asian Games (postponed from 2022) in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.
“The national athletes who performed in the finals were quite impressive. They have bright hopes for the future and still stand a good chance at the Asian Games,” he said.
On Friday (July 14), Muhammad Azeem’s desire to get on the podium was not fulfilled after he finished the men’s 100m in fifth place with a time of 10.25 seconds.
Shahidan added that MAF will persevere to send national athletes to gain experience in international competitions even though some tournaments are not funded by the National Sports Council.
He said they will use funds from MAF sponsorships to give the necessary exposure for national athletes, to improve their performance.
— Bernama
