KUALA LUMPUR: Sprinter Azeem Fahmi and track queen Shereen Samson Vallabouy fell short of qualifying for the Paris Olympics on merit.
However, one of them could still qualify via a wild card.
Their efforts at the Kazakhstan Open in Almaty on Saturday were not sufficient to earn automatic berths. Azeem was affected by three false starts during the men's 100m final, while Shereen was unchallenged throughout the women's 400m race.
Azeem needed 10.20s to break into the top 56 in the Road to Paris rankings and secure his Olympic spot.
However, he clocked only 10.37, winning a bronze behind gold medallist Puripol Boonson of Thailand (10.23) and silver medallist Kayhan Ozer of Turkey (10.28).
Shereen clocked 52.60 and effortlessly won the 400m gold medal.
The 26-year-old needed to break her national record of 51.79 to move into the top 48 of the Paris rankings.
Coach Amir Izwan, who is in Almaty, said Azeem could have achieved a better time but the three false starts in the 100m final affected his focus and concentration.
"The first false start was by a Turkish athlete, the second by a Tajikistan athlete, and the third by a Kazakhstan athlete.
"What was really frustrating is none of the three athletes were disqualified for false starts.
"Azeem is not satisfied with the outcome of his race.
"He did not qualify on merit for the Olympics and now it is up to the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) to decide whether to send him as a wild card," said Amir.
The closing date to recommend athletes for wild cards is July 8.
MAF technical director John Ballard said it was unfortunate that both Azeem and Shereen failed to qualify on merit for the Olympics.
"It will be up to MAF to recommend one of them for the wild card," said the Australian coach.