KUCHING: Johor sprinter Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee has set his sights on becoming even better than national record holder Azeem Fahmi after clinching the men's 100 metre gold medal at the Sarawak Malaysia Games (Sukma) today.
The 17-year-old said he hopes to break the 10.09 seconds record currently held by Azeem one day.
"Of course I want to be better than him one day but for now I am still learning a lot from him (Azeem)," said Danish Iftikhar.
"He has shared a lot of advice with me. He told me to focus on running my own race, always do my best and leave the rest to Allah.
"I will try to break his national record in the future. This will depend on the training programme my coach prepares for me and of course, the will of Allah."
Danish, running in the third lane, clocked 10.53s to claim gold in the blue riband event at Sarawak Stadium.
Selangor's Danish Irfan Tamrin settled for silver on 10.60s while Pahang's Efrain Feerzan Qhan Mohd Yazid (10.66s) completed the podium.
"The competition was very close from the semi-finals onwards," added Danish Iftikhar, who is hoping to represent Malaysia at the Thailand Sea Games next year.
"I will continue to work on improving my timing with my coach."
The Malaysian Schools Sports Council (MSSM) Championships winner dedicated his Sukma win to both his parents who have sacrificed a lot for him.
Meanwhile, Selangor's Nur Afrina Batrisyia Mohamad Rizal claimed the women's 100m gold at Sukma after clocking 11.64s in the final.
It erased the former Sukma games record of 11.81s set by Terengganu's Azreen Nabila Alias in 2016.
Terengganu's Izzatul Musfirah Ahmad Kamal Azira (11.90s) came in second while Sarawak's Ormilla Octavia Codday Nyadau (12.19s) took the bronze).
Afrina said she had targeted both the gold and the record in Sarawak and was in good form after training under respected coach Poad Kassim with support from the National Sports Council and National Sports Institute.
"My next mission is to prepare for the Thailand Sea Games and World University Games next year (Germany)," said Afrina.
Afrina still has three more events to race in - 200m, 4x100m and 4x400m at Sukma.