Andre cracks Sukma triple jump record
KOTA KINABALU: Andre Anura @ Anuar has set his eyes on the Manila SEA Games next year after his record breaking feat in the 19th Malaysia Games (Sukma) yesterday.
The Tenom lad won the men’s triple jump gold in a new Sukma record of 15.91m as he delivered the first athletics gold for Sabah in the on-going Sukma at the Perak Stadium.
Sabah also added one silver silver and one bronze to athletics on the third day, but Andre’s grand effort has certainly caught the eyes of many.
“I’m very happy to have won the gold as well as setting a new record,” said Andre who also won the men’s long jump silver the day before yesterday.
In fact, Andre has twice smashed the games record in the final where he first achieved it on his fifth jump with 15.89m before improving to 15.91m in the sixth and final jump, erasing the old mark of 15.75m.
Lau Jit Sung of Perak (15.44m) and Muhammad Nazri Mustafa of Kedah (15.12m) settled for the silver and bronze respectively.
“I was confident of winning gold and setting a new record because I’ve made the best preparation for Sukma.
“I set a personal best and season best then of 15.69m at the Malaysia Open this year and apart from that, I also recorded 15.95m during training on a 10step run-up...in the Sukma I did the full run-up (of around 15 steps).
“That’s why I was confident of going into the final,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Having said that, Andre admitted he did face some anxious moments in the final.
“I failed in my first two jumps and it put me under pressure because I was left with only one try to get into the next round of the final...if I failed then I would be out.
“I tried to relax myself and stay focus. I’m glad I made it on my third jump in a distance of 14.95m to go into the final three jumps,” said Andre who returned empty handed in his Sukma bow in Sarawak two years ago.
“I’ve achieved what I’ve set for in Sukma and the next target for me will be the Manila SEA Games in 2020...I will try my best to win a place in the national squad,” said Andre who is enrolled at the Bukit Jalil Sports School Pre-U.
Meanwhile, the state women’s 4x100m relay comprising Chelsea Cassiopea Evali Bopulas, Ikma Syaffiera Duris, Karmentina Nadia Quadra and Nur Aishah Rofina Aling won the silver in a time of 47.51s.
Terengganu won the gold in 47.01s and Kedah took the bronze in 48.74s.
In the men’s 4x100m final, the state’s quartet of Desmond wong, Tonga Jody Edmund, Mohammad Nor Musyaraf Mohd Sari and Muhammad Din Norbik finished third in 40.42s, while Terengganu and Perak took gold and silver in 40.21s and 40.40s respectively.
Sabah squad, who have set a five-gold target, collected one gold, four silver and four bronze medals going into the final day of athletics today.