Athletics squad can win 10 golds at KL SEA Games — Former sprint champion
Based on the current performance of the national athletes, the Malaysian athletics squad to the 29th SEA Games expect to win at least 10 gold medals.
Former Southeast Asian sprint king Nazmizan Muhammad voiced optimism on the athletes’ ability to do well at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games 2017, scheduled to take place from Aug 19 to 30.
“With the ability of athletes such as Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian (men’s 110m hurdles), Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin (discus), Jackie Wong ( men’s hammer throw), Grace Wong Xiu Wei (women’s hammer throw) and Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (women’s 100m) who broke the national records this year, it is not impossible for them to win gold medals.
“Besides, consistent performance shown by national high jump athletes Nauraj Singh Randhawa and Lee Hup Wei, as well as Muhammad Hakimi Ismail in triple jump and Luqman Hakim Ramlan in long jump, it is not impossible for them to win gold as well,” said Nazmizan, gold medallist in the 100m and 200m events at the Vietnam SEA Games in 2003.
Nazmizan, currently deputy di rector at the Universit i Malaysia Perlis Sports Centre, also expressed confidence that the re- emergence of the country’s walker, Yuan Yu Fang, after her last participation in the same event in Vientiane, Laos, eight years ago, would increase the chances of gold medal victories for the athletics squad.
Commenting on Malaysia’s chances in the sprint events, Nazmizan said national sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan should be more consistent if he wanted to win gold in the 100m and 200m events, and to become the Southeast Asian sprint king.
He said that after breaking the national record at the Sukma meet in Kuching, Sarawak, last year, Khairul Hafiz’s performance in the 100m event was not very encouraging and he needed to take the time to improve his record and then move on to his best level.
Nazmizan also said that the athletics squad shouldered a big responsibility to help realise the country’s aspiration to become the overall champion of the SEA Games on home ground.
“If we want to repeat the country’s excellent achievements at home, similar to that at the SEA Games 2001, the athletics squad will have to play its part in winning as many golds as it can, to redeem the team’s lacklustre performance at the Singapore SEA Games two years ago,” Nazmizan said. — Bernama