AZEEM LIVES UP TO EXPECTATIONS BY WINNING SPRINT GOLD BUT UNHAPPY WITH WINNING TIME

KUANTAN, June 15 (Bernama) -- National sprinter Muhammad Azeem Fahmi was not a happy man despite winning the men’s 100m gold with a time of 10.43 seconds at the 2024 Malaysian Open Athletics Championships at the Darul Makmur Stadium, here tonight because he was not able to improve on his own record.

Muhammad Azeem said though he can be happy for achieving the target of retaining the title as the fastest sprinter in the country and able to compete against the best sprinters in the country, it did not provide the ultimate satisfaction.

“I must admit that I have not been able to set a commendable time since the Asian Games last year, but my main objective here was to enjoy the competition without putting any pressure on myself but rather make the fans happy. 

“There were several factors that prevented, maybe the head wind and the fact that I have not recovered 100 percent after a hectic long journey from the United States,” he told reporters after the race tonight.

In the race, Armed Forces athlete Jonathan Nyepa came in second with a time of 10.54 seconds while Muhammad Efrain Feerzan Khan from Pahang clocked 10.61s to finish third.

The 20-year-old athlete from Teluk Intan, Perak who holds the National record of 10.09s, said he would try to do better and maybe set a better time when taking part in the Kazakhstan Open next week.

"My dream and target is to become the first player from Malaysia to dip under the 10s mark. It is not impossible but a lot of preparations is needed to be ready for such an assault, including good rest.

“I am still young and hope I will be given space and time, maybe two to three years, to reach the top of my performance,” he said.

Muhammad Azeem’s season best this year is 10.24s which he had set duringn the LSU Invitational Athletics Championships in Los Angeles on April 27.

Meanwhile, in the women’s 100m final, Zaidatul Husniah from the Armed Forces crowned herself as the top sprinter in the country by taking the gold with a time of 11.79s, followed by Nur Afrina Batrisyia Moha from Selangor with a time of (11.87s) while Terengganu’s Azreen Nabila Alias came in third (12.21s).

The three-day 2024 Malaysian Open Athletics Championships which started on Friday, featured 578 athletes from 17 contingents within Malaysia and eight foreign countries, including from Australia and Russia.

-- BERNAMA