KUALA LUMPUR: Sprinter Nur Aishah Rofina Aling is set to make her Sea Games debut in Phnom Penh on May 5-17 but she is currently facing a dilemma.
Aishah is finding it hard to juggle time for her studies with training. The 24-year-old is pursuing a degree in psychology and physical education at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) in Kota Kinabalu.
But her coach of nine years, Jumain Taepe, is based in Sandakan.
Jumain said it is a tricky situation for the duo.
"The distance between Kota Kinabalu and Sandakan is 360km and I can only train her on weekends when she returns to Sandakan. This affects her training," said Jumain today.
"Sometimes I travel to Kota Kinabalu to train her after her classes (on weekdays).
"To make matters worse, Aishah cannot take anymore semester breaks as she already took two last year to prepare for the Asean University Games in Thailand (July) and Malaysia Games in Bukit Jalil (September).
"Aishah needs to complete both her final two semesters this year otherwise she will not obtain a degree.
"It is a difficult situation because she wants to compete at the Sea Games and also complete her studies."
Aishah will compete at the Federal Territory All Comers meet at Bukit Jalil on March 17-19. Jumain will be assesing her performance there.
"This will be her last meet before her next semester starts on March 27," added Jumain.
"Hopefully she will be given some time off to allow her to join the national training camp in Bukit Jalil at the end of April before the Sea Games."
Aishah, representing Sabah, upset national sprinters to win the women's 100m gold in a new personal best of 11.90 seconds at the Malaysian Track and Field Championships (Bukit Jalil) last month. The win qualified her for the Sea Games.