Hup Wei hopes to jump higher with help from a world-class coach
KUALA LUMPUR: National high jumper Lee Hup Wei is seeking a world class coach who can help him improve his personal best.
He trained under Australian Alex Stewart last year and lept to a personal best mark of 2.28m en route to winning the gold medal in the Canberra Open on Jan 27, 2018.
As Stewart no longer coaches the Malaysian high jumpers, Hup Wei now trains under Aleksandr Gasparyan from Uzbekistan.
The three-time SEA Games gold medallist, who turns 32 on May 5, said he has requested Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk Karim Ibrahim to help him get a better coach to help him qualify for the World Championships in Doha (from Sept 28-Oct 6).
“I’ve represented Malaysia the last 14 years but I’ve yet to compete in a world meet,” said Hup Wei, who needs to clear 2.30m to qualify for the world meet.
Hup Wei is the only Malaysian men high jumper who won in the Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan, with a height of 2.24m in 2007.
He cleared 2.27m in the China Open in 2008 and also featured in that year’s Beijing Olympics.
Hup Wei, who finished 10th in the Asian Games in Jakarta last August with an effort of 2.20m, will participate in the Perak All Comers at the Perak Stadium this weekend.
The men’s high jump competition will begin at 8am on Saturday and Hup Wei said it would be tough to do a decent jump in the morning.
“Usually, the high jump events are held in the afternoon but surprisingly it will be held in the morning,” said Hup Wei.
“It’s the first competition of the year and I’ll be more than pleased if I can clear 2.20m to win the event.
“I’m using the meet in Perak to prepare for the National Open in Bukit Jalil next month,” said Hup Wei, who finished eighth in last year’s Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, with a jump of 2.21m.