KUALA LUMPUR: There is high expectation on Sea Games 400m champion Umar Osman to do another scorching run in his first Asian Athletics Championships in Pattaya from July 12-16.
The Johorean ran the race of his life in the Phnom Penh Sea Games last month with a time of 46.34s to break the national record of 46.41 set by Zaiful Zainal Abidin in 2001.
Umar, 20, said everyone is expecting him to deliver another explosive performance in the Asian meet.
"I'm leaving no stone unturned in my quest to give my best in Pattaya," he said.
Umar, who is pursuing a diploma in industrial design at Politeknik Ibrahim Sultan, is on semester break from his studies and is now based in Singapore for two months of training.
"I have been training under coach Simon Lau at Singapore Sports School for the last two weeks.
"Zoom Club has taken me under their wings to compete in competitions in Singapore, and the club will also pay me an allowance to represent them."
Simon, who was with Johor State Sports Council until May 31, guided Umar to the Sea Games gold.
However, he joined Singapore Sports School as its chief coach on June 1.
Umar said Simon has helped him to improve his personal best (400m) 10 times in the last two years.
"I aim to qualify for the Asian championships final and clock 46.17 to qualify for the Asian Games. It will be tough but not impossible," said Umar.