KUALA LUMPUR: Runner S. Poo Vasanthan lopped almost two minutes off his personal best to win the men's 10,000m gold at the Malaysian Track and Field Championships in Bukit Jalil today and secured his place at the upcoming Phnom Penh Sea Games.
The Pahang athlete hit the line in 32 minutes and 1.96 seconds to beat the Sea Games qualifying standard of 32:37.66s and substantially better his former personal best of 33:50.62s (2018).
R. Thevan of Negri Sembilan (32:45.08s) and Christopher Soosai of Armed Forces (33:36.54s) bagged silver and bronze, respectively.
A delighted Vasanthan dedicated the win to his father P. Subramaniam who has been coaching him since he was 11.
"I have been trying to qualify for the Sea Games for the past few years.
"I was finally able to do it thanks to guidance from my father and also by training hard. I dedicate this gold to him.
"This is good progress but I still need to train harder to do well at the Sea Games."
High jumper Ngu Jia Xin of Perak also booked her spot at the Sea Games after equalling the qualifying mark of 1.70m to win gold in her event.
Jia Xin, who is trained by Alexander Gasparyan of Uzbekistan, was relieved to qualify for her second Sea Games.
"I did not have a good outing in Hanoi (Sea Games) and I have to train harder if I hope to win a medal in Cambodia," said Jia Xin, who has a personal best of 1.79m.
Teenager Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam upstaged national sprinters to win the men's 200m gold in 21.54s.
National sprinter Jonathan Nyepa clocked 21.67s to take silver while Kwong Kar Jun claimed bronze on 21.89s.
The 18-year-old Pengiran was thrilled as he did not expect to beat seniors from the national team.
"Although I failed to beat the 200m Sea Games qualifying mark of 20.77s, I am still happy with my performance here. I also achieved a personal best of 10.62s in the 100m final (for fifth)," said Aidil.
Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli clinched the women's 200m gold in 24.38s but it was not enough to secure her a spot at the Sea Games as the qualifying standard is 23.87s.
RESULTS:
Men
200m: 1. Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam (Sab) 21.54s, 2. Jonathan Nyepa (Forces) 21.67s, 3. Kwong Kar Jun (Kul) 21.89s.
110m hurdles: 1. Rizzua Haizad (Swk) 14.19s, 2. Shareem Aleimran Abdul Raheem (Sel) 14.65s, 3. Hilmi Zakuwan Yusri Azhar (Prk) 14.75s.
1,500m: 1. M. Sanjay (Joh) 4:05.03s, 2. B. Gokul Raj (Forces) 4:05.75s, 3. Daren James Nair (Sel) 4:10.76s.
3,000m steeplechase: 1. Ahmad Luth Hamizan (Nse) 9:37.10s, 2. Amiruddin Nasir (Forces) 10:11.76, 3. Nor Afifi Harun (Forces) 10:17.86.
10,000m: 1. S. Poo Vasanthan (Pah) 32:01.96s, 2. R. Thevan (Nse) 32:45.08s, 3. Christoper Soosai (Forces) 33:36.54s.
Discus: 1. Irfan Shamsuddin (Forces) 59.71m, 2. Kamal Farhan Rahman (Per) 48.41m, 3. Hafizin Zufayri Mahadi (Ter) 42.54m.
High jump: 1. Eizlan Dahalan (Sab) 2.05m, 2. Farell Glen Felix Jurus (Sab) 2.00m, 3. Norshafiee Shah (Joh) 2.00m.
Triple jump: 1. Izzul Haniff Raffi (Sel) 15.49m, 2. Brendon Ting Li King (Swk) 15.15m, 3. Shah Sholihin Azshar (Prk) 15.03m.
Women
200m: 1. Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli (Forces) 24.38, 2. S. Komalam Shally (Forces) 25.02, 3. Siti Fatimah Mohamad (Forces) 25.36.
100m hurdles: 1. Emma Hill Yu Wei Ling (Swk) 14.80s, 2. Farah Syakira Azifsafarin (Prk) 14.82s, 3. Juriani Mat Rodzi (Prk) 14.88s.
1500m: 1. S. Geetha (Joh) 4:57.80s, 2. Jerusha Olive Jason (Sel) 5:31.87s, 3. T. Thaerisha (Kul) 5:55.35s.
10,000m: 1. Loh Chooi Fern (Kul) 40:38.39s, 2. Noor Amelia Musa (Pol) 41:17.13s, 3. Tahira Najmunissa Zaid (Forces) 42:26.68s.
High jump: 1. Ngu Jia Xin (Prk) 1.70m, 2. Yap Sean Yee (Kul) 1.65m, 3. Ching Qin Yan (Pen) 1.60m.
Shot putt: 1. Nani Sahirah Maryata (Pah) 13.27m, 2. Nurrul Ainin Syauqina Nor Azahar (Pah) 12.20m, 3. Queenie Ting Kung Ni (For) 11.35m.
Triple jump: 1. R. Kirthana (Forces) 12.80m, 2. Nurul Ashikin Abas (Prk) 12.76m (only two athletes won medals).