KUALA LUMPUR – Just ahead of the Cambodia SEA Games, the national women’s 4x100m relay team proved they are a force to be reckoned with after a stellar performance at the Singapore Open Track & Field Championships yesterday.
Going up against Singapore and Thailand in the final, the national runners comprised of Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Azreen Nabila Alias, Nur Aishah Rofina Aling, and Nur Afrina Mohamad Rizal finished with a time of 45.7sec to clinch the gold medal.
But it was Nur Aishah’s final leg that had the crowd cheering as she overtook Singapore’s anchor in the race’s closing metres, catching everyone by surprise.
Singapore had to settle for second place with a time of 45.82sec, while the Thai team took bronze after clocking 46.06sec.
The win in the event added to Malaysia’s overall medal tally at the championships as they return with 13 gold, eight silver, and three bronze medals, which will surely be a confidence boost ahead of the SEA Games from May 5 to 17.
Meanwhile, other national athletes bound for Phnom Penh also took the top podium spot in Singapore, such as 800m runner Wan Muhammad Fazri Wan Zahari who finished ahead of even Singaporean runners to win gold.
Savinder Kaur bagged the women’s 1500m race, while Mandy Goh finished more than two seconds ahead of Singapore’s Theisha Khoo to win the 400m hurdles.
In the men’s 5000m, Malaysia claimed all three podium spots as Poo Vasanthan won gold with a time of 15min 5.54sec, ahead of Muhammad Ikbolasen Md Kamal Hussain with 15min 7.22sec and Daren James Nair in third with 15min 17.93sec.
Sukma champion Sriven Tan came in seven minutes ahead of the competition to win the men’s 10,000m race walk with a time of 50min 45.43sec.
It was double victory for Nurul Ashikin Abas who won the women’s long jump with a distance of 5.88m, while also claiming gold in the women’s triple jump.
Sabah’s Chelsea Cassiopea Evali Bopulas led a clean sweep for the Malaysians in the women’s 400m dash, as she came ahead of compatriot Nurul Aliah Nor Azmi in second and Zaimah Atifah Zainuddin in third. – The Vibes, April 29, 2023
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