KUALA LUMPUR – Veteran 110-metre hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian is looking for revenge to end his SEA Games participation in a flourish in Hanoi, Vietnam next month.
The 34-year-old Sabahan said he wants to make amends for his failure to win gold at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.
“It is likely to be my last appearance (at SEA Games); if possible, I want to do better and atone for my defeat (2019 Games).
“I will do my best to regain the gold I won at the 2017 Games in Kuala Lumpur,” he told reporters here.
He was speaking after attending a meeting between Malaysia’s SEA Games chef de mission Datuk Nur Azmi Ahmad and athletes and coaches from e-sport and athletics in Bukit Jalil here yesterday.
Rayzam Shah, who has participated in six SEA Games, was denied the gold in the last games after he lost to the Philippines’ Clinton Kingsley Bautista in a photo finish which saw both clocking 13.97s.
He said he could be the oldest athlete in the event and has to watch out for fast-rising juniors, especially from the Philippines, Singapore and Indonesia.
Chief coach Mohd Manshahar Abdul Jalil said Rayzam Shah was very determined to make the Hanoi Games his grand finale and had joined centralised training early to prepare for the games, which is about five weeks away.
Apart from winning gold in the 2017 edition, Rayzam Shah also created an upset by winning the event on his debut at the 2007 Games in Korat and won three silvers in 2011, 2013 and 2015. – Bernama, April 8, 2022
