Danish Iftikhar targets the men’s 100m final at the 2026 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon
KUALA LUMPUR: National young sprinter Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee is targeting a place in the men’s 100 metres final at the 2026 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Oregon, the United States, scheduled to be held from Aug 5 to 9.
Besides reaching the final in his debut appearance at the championships, Danish Iftikhar is also hoping to clock below 10.20 seconds to improve on his season’s personal best of 10.38s, which he set at the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships in Hong Kong last May.
“I’ll try to go under 10.30s or even 10.20s. I will also use this platform to showcase the best version of myself,” he told reporters after attending a training session at the National Sports Council (NSC) in Bukit Jalil here today.
The men’s 100m bronze medallist at the 2025 Thailand SEA Games said he believes he is capable of achieving the time after producing encouraging performances at the 2026 Malaysian Open, the 2026 Kedah Open and the 2026 Johor Open.
The 19-year-old said competing in Oregon would also be crucial in preparing him for two other major competitions this year — the 2026 Selangor Malaysia Games (SUKMA) from Aug 15 to 24 and the 2026 Higher Education Institutions Games (SUKIPT) from Aug 28 to Sept 6.
Besides Danish Iftikhar, Malaysia will also field Muhammad Ariel Iskandar Rusli in the men’s 100m event.
The national contingent will also be represented by Avinaash Nair Sathiaseelan in the men’s 400m hurdles and Izzatul Musfirah Ahmad Kamal Azira in the women’s 100m.
