KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's young athletes struggled to make an impact at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, on Tuesday, as the chilly 13 degrees Celsius weather and time difference took a toll on their performances.
Sprinter Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam, who has a personal best of 10.52s, only managed 10.89, placing sixth in heat two of the men's 100m.
Fellow sprinter Hanssen Yap, with a PB of 10.41, fared similarly poorly, clocking 10.94 to finish seventh in heat four.
Both failed to advance to the semi-finals, with Pengiran and Hanssen finishing 54th and 58th overall.
Triple jumper Ng Tak Sing, who won bronze at the Asian Junior Championships in Dubai in April, also had a disappointing outing.
He recorded a jump of 14.20m, placing last among 20 participants in the qualifying round.
His PB stands at 15.62.
Malaysian Athletics Federation technical director John Ballard attributed the subpar performances to the weather and the time difference, claiming that athletes from other countries also struggled under the same conditions.
"Our athletes didn't have enough time to acclimatise to the weather and the time zone," said the Australian coach. "They left Malaysia on Aug 23, just after the Malaysia Games (Sukma), and arrived in Lima two days later following a 30-hour flight.
"It was challenging for them to perform at their best under such circumstances."
Malaysia's hopes now rest on Aiman Najmi Anuar (men's 400m hurdles) and Khalil Helmi (400m), who will compete on Thursday.