Nauraj hopes to get back in the groove in Japan meets

KUALA LUMPUR: National high jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa hopes to regain his rhythm in two competitions in Japan.

The Olympian will compete in the Shizuoka International meet on May 3 and the Mito Invitational meet two days later.

The three-time SEA Games gold medallist had a disappointing outing in the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast as he only managed to clear 2.18m in the final – way off his national record of 2.30m set in the Singapore Open in April last year.

The 27-year-old Nauraj said he is physically in good shape but his challenge would be to regain his rhythm after his outing in Gold Coast.

“Last year, I won silver in the Shizuoka meet with a height of 2.25m and I hope I can produce a good jump,” said Nauraj, who will be leaving for Japan on Monday.

He said the two meets would be good preparation for the Malaysian Open at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil from May 10-12.

“I have not competed in the Malaysian Open since 2014 as I was injured in 2015 and took a break after featuring in the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in 2016.

Last year, I was overseas training for the SEA Games,” said Nauraj, who met reporters to clarify that he has never signed a contract of endorsement with Universal Fitness Leisure (UFL).

“I call for a press conference to clear my name.

“I’m also not an ambassador of UFL,” said Nauraj, adding that he received a one-off payment of RM2,000 and Sunto training watch from UFL in May 2016 after qualifying for the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

UFL managing director Datuk Radha Krishnan admitted that Nauraj has never signed a contract with them and the payment and the watch were given out of goodwill.