KUALA LUMPUR: The country’s top hammer throw athlete Jackie Wong Siew Cheer is confident of maintaining his winning momentum at the SEA Games in Manila this November after breaking his own national record at the 2019 Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) Championships. Jackie broke his national record twice, first in the second attempt with a throw of 67.49m and in her fifth attempt with 68.22m, erasing his previous record of 67.31m.
The 27-year-old acknowledged his performance was improving and considered Sunday’s success as a preparation for the upcoming SEA Games. “My performance has not been at its best of late. Since I set the new record at the Korean Open Championship, my performance had declined.
Today, I feel much better. So I am confident of doing my best at the SEA Games. Looking at the throw records today, my chances of winning the gold in the Philippines look bright, but I still have to be careful as we never know how things will turn out,” he said when met by reporters at the National Sports Council Mini Stadium, here, on Sunday.
Jackie broke the national record in the South Korean Open in June with a throw of 67.31m and the Asian Sports Championship record in April with a 67.01m effort. Meanwhile, national Paralympian Abdul Latif Romly, who took part in the competition with normal athletes, won the long jump event with a 7.64 leap. Abdul Latif, representing Perlis, beat Lokman Hakim Ramlan (Malaysian Armed Forces — 7.58m) and Muhammad Azim Abdul Kefli (Johor — 7.29m) who finished with the silver and bronze respectively.
However, Abdul Latif, who managed to outdo his personal best this year, still failed to grab a qualification spot based on merit to the SEA Games. – Bernama
