History motivates Hup Wei to set high target
KUALA LUMPUR: National high jumper Lee Hup Wei hopes history will repeat itself at the Asian Athletics Championships.
In 2007 in Jordan, he created the biggest upset when he bagged a gold medal with a 2.24m effort. He also became the first Malaysian high jumper to win in the Asian meet.
Hup Wei is in the right frame of mind to achieve another golden outing after winning at the Malaysian Grand Prix with a season best of 2.27m.
The Selangor athlete, who will turn 32 on May 5, said that it would be great if he can repeat the feat when the championships gets under way at the Khalifa International Stadium in Doha today.
“It has been 12 years since I won and I’ll also be looking to improve on my personal best to qualify for the World Championships,” said Hup Wei, who will be competing in his seventh Asian Championships.
The world meet will also be held in Doha from Sept 28 to Oct 7.
Hup Wei, who’s personal best is 2.28m, will need to get past 2.30m to qualify.
The three-time SEA Games gold medallist, who has featured in the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has yet to compete in the World Championships.
At the last Asian meet in Bhubaneswar, India, Hup Wei cleared 2.20m to finish sixth.
Besides Hup Wei, Nauraj Singh Randhawa, who holds the national record of 2.30m, will also feature in Doha.
Nauraj, who competed in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and 2017 London World Championships, however, has failed to come close to his personal best this year.
A total of 22 athletes will compete in the event and Qatar’s Mutaz Essa Barshim, who has a personal best of 2.43m, will start as the favourite.