KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia Athletics has concluded its search for a new sprints coach after successfully negotiating with a prominent South African.
However, the national body will only reveal the coach’s identity once the contract has been finalised. The appointment comes as a surprise, as Malaysia Athletics had previously indicated it was looking to hire a coach from Jamaica.
Acting Malaysia Athletics president Datuk Wan Hisham Wan Salleh confirmed that an agreement had been reached, but referred further enquiries to secretary-general Nurhayati Karim.
“Yes, we have reached an agreement with the coach, but I don’t have the details with me at the moment. Perhaps you can speak to Nurhayati,” said Wan Hisham.
Nurhayati, however, said the coach’s identity would only be disclosed after discussions with the National Sports Council.
“Let us get everything in order first. But I can confirm that it is a sprints coach from South Africa,” said Nurhayati, who is also president of the Selangor Athletics Association.
Wan Hisham said the coach was expected to begin work “very soon”, with his first assignment being preparations for the Asian Games in Aichi Prefecture and Nagoya, Japan, from Sept 19 to Oct 4.
“We don’t have much time, but we are confident of settling everything in the coming week,” he said.
Wan Hisham said about 20 Malaysian athletes had qualified for the Asian Games, with the country’s strongest medal hopes resting on men’s discus thrower Irfan Shamsuddin, sprinter Azeem Fahmi and women’s 400m runner Shereen Samson Vallabouy.
Irfan, who won bronze at last year’s Asian Championships in Gumi, South Korea, rewrote the national record with a throw of 62.87m at the Course B Jozsef Mozsdenyi Memorial meet in Hungary on June 21.
Azeem, the 100m bronze medallist at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, equalled his national record of 10.09 seconds at an NCAA meet in Kentucky, United States, last month. Shereen, meanwhile, claimed bronze in the women’s 400m at the 2023 Asian Games.
Separately, Jonah Chang Rigan gave Malaysia another reason to celebrate after winning silver at the XXXV Qosanov Memorial Championships in Kazakhstan yesterday while setting another national record.
The 23-year-old from Sarikei, Sarawak, became the first Malaysian to break the 19m barrier in the men’s shot put with a throw of 19.12m.
He finished behind Georgia’s Giorgi Mujaridze, who won gold with 19.99m, while Kazakhstan’s Ivan Ivanov took bronze with 18.67m.
Jonah had set the previous national record of 18.81m at the Asian Throwing Championships in Mokpo, South Korea, in May.
He is also the reigning SEA Games champion, having ended Malaysia’s 32-year wait for a gold medal in the event. Malaysia’s previous shot put gold came through Arjan Singh at the 1993 SEA Games in Singapore.
Despite his latest national record, Jonah has yet to secure automatic qualification for the Asian Games after falling short of the qualifying mark of 19.74m.
Nevertheless, he is expected to make the squad under Category B qualification.
Malaysia also celebrated another silver medal in Kazakhstan through Andre Anura, who finished second in the men’s long jump with a leap of 7.44m.
Tajikistan’s Ildar Ahmadiev won gold with 7.62m, while Azerbaijan’s Jabir Aliyev claimed bronze with 7.38m.
Image: Jonah Chang Rigan is the first Malaysian to break the 19m barrier in the men’s shot put with a throw of 19.12m. Malaysia Athletics/Facebook
