KUANTAN: National sprint king Azeem Fahmi topped the men's 200m heats at the Malaysian Open Athletics Championships at Darul Makmur Stadium in Kuantan today to cruise into the semifinals.
The 20-year-old won heat three after clocking 21.32.
Azeem, who is studying at Auburn University in the United States. started in Lane 2 alongside Jonathan Nyepa and Khairul Hafiz Jantan, the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games 100m gold medallist.
Jonathan finished second in 21.84 while Khairul Hafiz ran 22.18 for third.
Australia's Jack Boulton, who turns 20 today, clocked 21.52 to emerge top in heat one.
Azeem needs to clock 10 seconds in his pet event, the 100m tomorrow to qualify for the Paris Olympics.