IPOH: National sprinter Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi, dubbed the 'Usain Bolt of Malaysia', may have been disappointed with his poor finish at the recent Hanoi Sea Games.
However, there were certainly no false starts for the 18-year-old in the 2021 Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination, where he scored 6As.
The feat was all the more special for Azeem as he had to juggle intensive training and participation in tournaments prior to the exams.
"I certainly didn't expect to get As as I had been juggling sports and studies. It wasn't easy but praise to Allah, I managed to ace the exam," said the student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Gunung Rapat.
He said all the sacrifices, including having to wake up at 5.30am and get ready for school, attending training and tournaments as well as doing revision at night, has paid off.
"For some, 6As may be nothing but it means the world to me. I sacrificed a lot of my time for sports but I told myself that I also needed to focus on the SPM exams," he said when met at the school today.
Azeem, who hails from Teluk Intan, expressed his gratitude to his parents and teachers for their guidance and unwavering support.
"Those who know me, know my tight schedule. Even during the SPM exam, I was still attending tournaments every weekend until my last paper, where I still had an event that day.
"Though I was disappointed with my performance at the Hanoi Sea Games but praise to Allah, He replaced it with today's good results," he said.
At the Hanoi Sea Games on May 18, Azeem was disqualified from the century sprint in the heats after aa false start.
However, in the men's 4x100m squad, Azeem, together with Arsyad Md Saat, Zulfiqar Ismail, and Haiqal Hanafi, were impressive as they renewed the national record en route to a silver medal.
Azeem, the fourth of five siblings, is considering pursuing his studies and training in the United States after getting several scholarship offers from colleges there.
"God willing, if Allah will it, I will go to the US in January next year to study and have my training sessions there," he said.