KUALA LUMPUR: National sensational sprinter Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi and Khairul Hafiz Jantan both booked their slots to the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships (AAC) men’s 100 metres (m) semi-finals at Suphachalasai National Stadium, Bangkok, yesterday.
Azeem Fahmi, nicknamed the ‘Usain Bolt of Malaysia’, took first place in the second heat in 10.24 seconds (s), leaving challenger Lee Hong Kit of Hong Kong (10.46s) and Omani runner, Ali Anwar Ali Al Balushi (10.61s) in second and third place respectively.
Khairul Hafiz was fortunate to book a place in the semi-finals when he finished fourth to be in the group of 24 best runners in the first heat with a time of 10.46s.
Only the top 24 runners qualify for the men’s 100m semi-finals.
For the women’s 100m event, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli also booked her ticket to the semi-finals after recording a personal best of 11.56s, surpassing her old record of 11.59s set in Weinheim, Germany in 2018.
Despite being ranked fourth in the second heat, Zaidatul managed to advance to the next round because she was in the group of 16 best sprinters out of a total of 19 participants.
Only 16 participants qualified for the semi-finals of the women’s 100m event.
Meanwhile, hurdler Mohd Rizzua Haizad Muhammad failed to advance to the final of the men’s 110m hurdles event after finishing fourth in the second heat with a time of 13.85s.
The first and second place of each heat and the two best runners from the total of 20 participants advance to the final stage of the event.
In the meantime, hammer throw champion Grace Wong Xiu Mei clinched a silver medal after having to concede to Zarina Nosirjonova of Uzbekistan who threw 58.47m.
Grace Wong, who heaved 57.99m to brush aside the challenge of host athlete Panwat Gimsrang who won bronze with a throw of 57.14m. – Bernama
