KUALA LUMPUR – Not only did he win the first athletics gold medal at the 2022 Malaysia Games (Sukma) today, Muhammad Ikbolasen Md Kamal Hussain also broke the men’s 10,000m record previously set by A. Munusamy in the 1996 Pahang edition 26 years ago.
However, the 20-year-old’s time would not be acknowledged as a new Sukma record due to the National Sports Council’s (NSC) decision not to recognise any new entry as a record since the age limit for this year’s games has been extended to 23 years.
Ikbolasen clocked a time of 31m 11.62s at the men’s 10,000m race final, faster than Munusamy’s previous Games record of 31m 47.95s.
Sukma chief technical delegate V. Govindasamy said NSC’s instruction was that all contested sports will not recognise the Games records.
“This is because the previous edition in Johor was not held in 2020, so athletes who were under 21 then will have the chance to compete this year since the age limit is now 23,” he said.
Despite not officially setting a new Sukma record, Ikbolasen has a strong determination to become the country’s new long-distance star.
His love for long-distance running came at a young age when he would willingly run 8km on hilly terrain from his house in Batu 33, Ringlet to the Cameron Highlands District Council public field in Tanah Rata three times a week from the age of 12.
Until he received an offer from Pahang Sports School in Gambang at 16, Ikbolasen also walked to school at SMK Ringlet, about 4km from his home as he was not from a well-off family.
Making his Sukma debut today, Ikbolasen also gave Pahang its first gold medal at the Games here after he finished almost two minutes ahead of Selangor runner Dinesh Varma Selvam, who clocked a time of 33m 33.69s.
After his win, Ikbolasen said even though he was expecting to win in today’s race, he did not predict that it would be by a large margin.
“I thought it would be around the same time I did at in Bangkok which was 31m 31s,” he told the media.
At his first international outing at the Asics Meta Time Trial run in Bangkok earlier this month, Ikbolasen took the victory ahead of his idol and fellow Pahang runner S. Poo Vasanthan, who clocked 33m 47s to finish fourth.
Ikbolasen has spent the last 18-months training with Poo Vasanthan’s father-cum-coach, P. Subramaniam and living with the family in Raub.
At the 2018 Perak Sukma Games, Poo Vasanthan won gold in the 5000m, 10,000m, and 3,000m steeplechase events.
Ikbolasen will compete in two other events, the 3,000m steeplechase tomorrow and the 5,000m race on Saturday.
“I am targeting a gold for the 5,000m race and a podium finish for the 3,000m steeplechase, though I am not sure which step I would be on,” he added.
Ikbolasen’s current personal best for the 5,000m and 3,000m steeplechase is 15m32s and 9m48s respectively.
The Sukma athletics events are set to take place from September 15 to 18, with a total of 44 gold medals at stake. – The Vibes, September 15, 2022.
