Hurdler Rayzam aims to run for six more years
KOTA KINABALU: Gold medal-winning hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian is giving himself six more years before hanging up his running shoes.
Rayzam, who won the 110m hurdles event on Saturday, said he intended to compete until he turned 35.
“I was thinking of retiring, but many have told me this is not the time as there is no one to take over,” said the Keningau-born Rayzam, 29, when met at the Kota Kinabalu International Airport earlier this week.
There to welcome him home were his wife Eriyana Idris and their five-year-old daughter Rayyana Arya.
According to Eriyana, her 11th-hour words of encouragement appeared to put Rayzam in the right frame of mind to win the event.
She said he called her an hour before the race and asked her to pray for him.
“I said I would, but I also told him to just give it his best,” said Eriyana, who was unable to watch Rayzam’s victory because there was no live telecast of the event.
However, after watching the recorded telecast, she noticed that he seemed different at the starting block compared to previous competitions.
“He looked relaxed and confident. He was in the right mindset to win the gold,” she said.
Eriyana said she knew what her husband was capable of achieving after watching him train for the SEA Games over the last few months.
“Never once did he take any shortcuts, even if he was training on his own.
“If the regimen required him to run 400m, that’s what he would do – not one metre less,” she added.
Also present to greet the Sabah Sports Board clerk were dozens of well-wishers carrying “welcome home” banners.
Rayzam said he intended to take part in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines and prior to that, the Commonwealth Games in Australia next April as well as the Asian Games in Jakarta in August.
Sabah Umno Youth chief Yamani Hafez Musa, who was also at the airport to welcome Rayzam, said the athlete had proven the sceptics wrong.
“Some say he is past his prime, but Rayzam has shown that anyone can excel if they strive hard enough,” he said, adding that the hurdler had made Sabah proud.