Balamurugan confident Zaidatul can break 100m record

KUALA LUMPUR: National sprint coach M. Balamurugan is banking on pint-sized Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli to make a huge impact at the Asian Games in Jakarta from Aug 18-Sept 2.

Balamurugan wants the Kedah sprinter to qualify for the women’s 100m final and also better the 25-year-old national record during the Jakarta Asiad.

G. Shanti holds the national record of 11.50 she set in the preSEA Games trials in Kuala Lumpur in 1993.

Zaidatul, who won silver in the blue riband event in the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games last August, is in Mannheim, Germany, for a training-cum-competitions stint.

Balamurugan, who has been coaching Zaidatul for the last two years, said the sprinter has the ability to clock a good time at the Games.

“She clocked a personal best of 11.45 (in the ASA Speed Series Two in Bloemfontein, South Africa last year in March) but the time could not be ratified as the national record because of technical irregularities in the race,” said Balamurugan.

“But I am optimistic that with the high level of training and also the stiff competitions in Germany, she will be able to register a good time during the Asian Games in Jakarta.

“Although Zaidatul was only included at the last minute for the Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast in April, she did well to clock 11.64 in the heats to finish third and qualify for the 100m semi-finals,” said Balamurugan.

In the semi-finals she clocked 11.84 to finish seventh.

The good news is that Zaidatul has qualified under Category A for the Asian Games. She surpassed the fourth placing mark of 11.67 by clocking 11.64 in the during Commonwealth Games.