Dark Horse Muhammad Haiqal Wins 100m Gold For Malaysia

From Mazani Mohd Yusoff NEW CLARK CITY (Philippines), Dec 9 (Bernama) -- The absence of his coach from the 30th SEA Games here did not dampen the spirits of Malaysia’s Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi as he obliterated a field of more established runners to claim the sprint king title here, Sunday. Muhammad Haiqal, 20, sprinted down the tracks of the New Clark City Athletics Stadium in 10.35 seconds to enable Malaysia to retain the men’s 100m gold. The silver and bronze went to Thailand’s Sowan Ruttanapon and Chuangchai Bandit, who clocked 10.49s and 10.52s respectively. Muhammad Haiqal’s teammate Khairul Hafiz Jantan had won the event at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017. Muhammad Haiqal, a late inclusion for the Games, clocked a personal season’s best of 10.39s in the heats this morning. The Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School student was clearly elated by his success, dedicating it to his parents, coach Mohd Poad Mohd Kassim and the people of Malaysia for their support for national athletes. "I did not expect to win and I was just focusing on my own run. Before the event today, I asked my coach (Mohd Poad) and parents to pray for me. "This is a very meaningful victory because it was my first time participating in an individual event in the SEA Games. Alhamdulillah, I’ve proven to my coach that I can do it,” said the Negeri Sembilan-born runner. Muhammad Haiqal said it was a tight race with the two Thai runners breathing down his neck until he stepped up the tempo in the last few metres. In the women’s 100m final, national sprinter Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli could only manage sixth place with a time of 11.84s. The gold was won by Vietnam’s Le Tu Chinh in 11.54s while Kristina Marie Knott of the Philippines took the silver in 11.55s and Singapore’s Shanti Veronica Pereira claimed the bronze in 11.66s. -- BERNAMA