KUALA LUMPUR: Hammer thrower Jackie Wong may have improved his position to sixth at the Asian Championships yesterday, but overall, it was a below-par showing at Suphachalasai Stadium in Bangkok.
The Sarawak-born athlete, who finished eighth four years ago in Doha, recorded 65.07m in the 14-field event. His effort was way off his four-year-old national record (68.22m) and season-best mark (66.19m).
Jackie also failed to surpass the Hangzhou Asian Games qualifying mark set at 66.81m.
China's Qi Wang won gold with a throw of 72.13m, followed by Uzbekistan's Sukhrob Khodjaev (71.83m) and Japan's Shota Fukuda (71.80m).
The two-time Sea Games gold medallist recorded 63.58m, 65.07m and 62.79m in his first, third and sixth attempts in Bangkok. He had three foul throws.
Compatriot Sadat Marzuqi Ajisan finished 13th with 59.40, which was way off his PB (61.90m).
Meanwhile, Rizzua Haizad clocked a new personal best of 13.85 in the 110 hurdles heats, but it was enough to reach the final.Rizzua, 26, and Kazakhstan's David Yefremov both clocked an identical time in heat one, but the latter finished third after a video review to reach the final.
"I am happy to clock a new PB. It shows I have made some progress and justified my place in the team," said Rizzua.
"However, it was not enough to qualify for the final."