Muhammad Aqil, Azreen Nabila crowned Sukma sprint king and queen
IPOH:Selangor's Muhammad Aqil Yasmin and Azreen Nabila Alias from Terengganu emerged king and queen of sprints in the 19th Malaysia Games (SUKMA).
At the final of the Men's 100m event at the Perak Stadium today, Muhammad Aqil clocked 10.39s to beat Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi of Negeri Sembilan (10.43s) in second place, while the bronze went to Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail from Terengganu (10.46s).
He also bettered his personal best of 10.48s set during the 18th Sukma in Sarawak, two years ago.
“I am very grateful that I managed to improve my personal record. The training programme prepared by my coach, SimonLau has achieved a fruitful result and I followed all of his advice.
“He (Lau) advised me to stay focused,” he told Bernama after winning the event.
Azreen Nabila was crowned the new sprint queen after shattering the 10-year-old Sukma women's 100m record set by Siti Fatimah Ahmad of Johorat the 2008 edition of the games in Terengganu, with a time of 11.81s.
The silver and bronze medals were won by sprinters from Sabah Chelsea Cassiopea Evali Bopulas and Ikma Syaffiera Duriswho who clocked 12.17s and 12.28s respectively.
“I really did not expect to break the record today...I was only aiming to win the gold medal.
“My family members who came all the way from Terengganu to give me their moral support have also played a part in my success today,” said Azreen Nabila.
Meanwhile, the Selangor contingent added another gold from the athletics when Muhammad Ilham Suhaimi broke the men's 400m record set by Muhd Zaiful Zainal Abidin of the Federal Territory in the Sabah Sukma in 2002 with a blistering run of 47.02s.
Perak's Cheah Yau Chung took the silver with a time of 47.35s while Shahrimien Saimoh from Sabah clocked 47.44s to take the bronze.