KUALA LUMPUR: National hurdler Mohd Rizzua Haizad Muhamad has set his sights on breaking the national 110m hurdles record held by Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian since 2017, in two years’ time.
Mohd Rizzua said the two-year time frame was set after considering an improvement in his performance since coming under the guidance of the country’s former 110m hurdles legend Nur Herman Majid last year.
“InsyaAllah, I hope to reach peak performance in two years. If I am really fit, I hope to break the National record,” he told Bernama.
Rayzam Shah clocked 13.67 seconds during the final of an international competition in Weinheim, Germany back in 2017, to erase the 23-year-old long standing national record of 13.73s set by Nur Herman during the 1994 Asian Games in Japan.
Mohd Rizzua, 27, said the encouragement and guidance provided by Nur Herman in training has helped improve his performance and personal best timing to 13.85s which he had clocked at the 2023 Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok, Thailand.
“I have learned a lot from Nur Herman, especially the technique of running, because he is awesome in that area, therefore it will be a big loss if I don’t acquire such knowledge from him,” said Mohd Rizzua.
Apart from breaking the National record, the athlete from Kota Samarahan, Sarawak is also eyeing a medal at the SEA Games.
The Sarawakian has competed in two previous SEA Games but has yet to win a medal, especially in the 2017 edition held in Kuala Lumpur and the 2021 SEA Games in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Mohd Rizzua has been scheduled to participate in a number of competitions this year, including the 2024 Taiwan Open in June and the 2024 Asean Universities Game (AUG) in Surabaya and Malang, Indonesia from June 25 to July 6. – BERNAMA
