Hail our goldenboys!
Teens Jonah and Azeem set new marks in SEA Youth Athletics C’ships
KUALA LUMPUR:
Jonah Chang Anak Rigan and Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi made Malaysia proud by breaking two meet records in the 14th SEA Youth Athletics Championships in Ilagan City, the Philippines.
Jonah from Sarawak was in smashing form as he broke the boys’ shot putt meet record with a personal best throw of 18.03m en route to winning gold yesterday at the Ilagan Sports Complex.
The 16-year-old from SMK Sungai Paoh in Sarikei bettered the previous mark of 16.76m set by Thailand’s Patcharapol Singrueang in Bangkok last April.
His previous best was 16.90m en route to winning the Under-15 gold at the National Schools (MSSM) in Shah Alam last year.
The silver and bronze medallists – Bandit Singhatongkul of Thailand (17.62m) and Lee Jun Long Matthew of Singapore (17.01m) – also did better than the previous record.
Azeem from SMK Gunung Rapat, Perak, crossed the finishing line by clocking a season-best time of 10.69 in the boys’ 100m final to shatter the meet record en route to winning gold.
The 16-year-old Azeem erased Thailand Rattanopon Sowan’s 10.74 set in Bangkok last year.
Muhammad Arsyad Mohd Saat made it a 1-2 finish for Malaysia when he clocked 10.87 to bag the silver while Muhammad Ardiansyah of Indonesia posted 10.98 to settle for bronze.
Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president Datuk Karim Ibrahim applauded Sarawak for producing good field athletes.
“They have produced national men and women hammer throwers Jackie Wong and Grace Wong, and now we have Jonah, who has done exceptionally well by surpassing the 18 metre mark,” said Karim.