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THE turmoil in the national athletics camp heated up again when several sprinters decided to go on strike by not attending training conducted by the Technical Director of Malaysian Athletics (MA), Robert Ballard, for the past month.
Athletes have also received threats of being kicked out of the program if they voice their dissatisfaction with his management style, reported Berita Harian.
For several reasons, especially when performance has declined significantly, sprint athletes such as the 2017 Southeast Asian Sprint King, Khairul Hafiz Jantan, women's 100-meter (m) national record holder, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli and double Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) champion, Nur Afrina Batrisya Mohamad Rizal have chosen to leave the national athletics camp and return to training under the supervision of the coach who was 'fired' by MA, Mohd Poad Md Kassim.
The coaching issue is getting worse today, it not only affects the sprinters but also involves the main contributors to medals at the SEA Games in the hammer throw such as Jackie Wong and Grace Wong who have been left without a dedicated coach since the end of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Khairul Hafiz said that Ballard's management style was also controversial when after almost two years as Technical Director, there was no planned program that was supposed to be his job.
"We just practiced and practiced. Two years without any planning. In fact, we have been stuck without a tournament abroad for a long time," he said.
Khairul Hafiz's words were further reinforced when he was informed during a meeting of the MA Committee Members that 37 athletes would be sent to the Asian Athletics Championships (ATF) - but who would be the selected athletes as the athletes themselves did not know the eligibility requirements and who was eligible to compete.
What caused more discomfort was the news that Ballard received a high salary of up to five figures but had not contributed any results after two years at the athletics camp.
"I don't want to make anyone feel bad; athletics is not what it used to be. There is no understanding between us and the people above.
"I was once threatened that if I didn't train with him (Ballard), my contract would not be renewed. Because I want to continue running for my country, I just follow suit.
"But try to imagine that from a time of around 10.5 seconds (s), 10.6s and after training with Ballard, it immediately dipped to 10.99s.
"When there is no progress, the matter is voiced, some athletes are insulted and cursed at will," said Khairul.
The same thing was also voiced by Zaidatul Husniah, the national record holder in the 100m with a record of 11.49s who returned to training using the Poad training program.
It is understood that the MA has named several candidate coaches, but the governing body needs to submit justification to the National Sports Council.
Due to this factor, the MA has yet to name a sprint coach, and it will have a big impact considering that the first four months of this year require the expertise of a coach when the Sea Games are only less than eight months away. – April 18, 2025
