STANDING at 1.84m, Arsyad Md Saat (pic) has the height and body frame to become the country's next sprint king.
The 18-year-old grabbed headlines last week when he won the 100m event at the Malaysia Athletics Grand Prix in Bukit Jalil.
The Johor-born recorded a new personal best of 10.62s, bettering his previous PB of 10.70, set at the 2019 Malaysia Schools Sports Council athletics meet, for the gold medal.
It was a huge upset as Arsyad had edged established sprinters, Jonathan Nyepa (10.70) and Azeem Fahmi (10.85), for the title.
According to coach Poad Kassim, who has been coaching Arsyad since 2019, the sprinter has the attributes to make it big in the event.
"Arsyad has great potential as he has the height. I believe he can set new records in the future," said Poad.
Poad added that he was not expecting a gold medal from Arsyad at the meet as the target was only to record a new PB.
However, he hopes the student of Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School will maintain his momentum and earn a chance to represent Malaysia in the 4x100m event at the Vietnam Sea Games this year.
Poad is one of the best sprint coaches in the country.
Previously, he guided Khairul Hafiz Jantan and Haiqal Hanafi to gold medals in the 100m event at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur and 2019 Philippines Sea Games. --Bernama