KUALA LUMPUR – Former national sprinter and hurdles runner Noraseela Mohd Khalid said she believes current sprint star Muhammad Azeem Fahmi made the right decision to sit out the 2023 Cambodia SEA games.
Azeem, who is currently studying and training at Auburn University in Alabama, is said to have certain commitments with the university during the SEA Games period from May 5 to 17.
“He has a commitment to his university because he is under a scholarship with them. The term has started and their competition cycle is different over there.
“Azeem has to maintain his performance with his university because he has to keep his scholarship,” Noraseela told The Vibes.
Having had to sit out the 2005 Manila and 2007 Korat SEA Games due to ankle and heel injuries, she said the decision to skip the games was difficult but necessary.
“When I did not take part in two SEA Games, it became a huge matter of discussion, even up to the top levels.
“It was very upsetting for an athlete like me to get brutal comments saying I was not patriotic.
“At the end of the day, it does not matter because it is up to the athlete’s commitment to self-development,” said the four-time SEA Games gold medallist.
Noraseela added that Azeem’s men’s 100m national record time of 10.09 seconds is already good enough to see him make it for the Asian Games.
“His timing is good enough for the Asian Games, we don’t need to expose him to the SEA Games.
“We already have the second and third layer of athletes, and we should use the SEA Games to give them exposure,” she said.
Previously, the Malaysian Athletics Federation were determined to bring Azeem back for the SEA Games, but the sprinter decided to skip the games at Phnom Penh.
Azeem also currently holds the national 60m indoor record after breaking it twice, with his time being 6.62s set at the Tiger Paw Invitational Championship at Clemson University in South Carolina last month. – The Vibes, March 4, 2023
