PHNOM PENH: The National women’s 4x100m quartet blazed to a new national record at the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games, enroute to winning a bronze medal at the Morodok Techo National Stadium, here today.
The Malaysian quartet comprising Azreen Nabila Alias, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Nur Afrina Batrisya Mohd Rizal and Nur Aishah Rofina Aling clocked 44.58 seconds to erase the old mark of 45.18s set by Zaidatul, Siti Fatimah Mohamad, S. Komalam and Nurul Faizah Asma Mazlan at the Asian Track and Field (ATF) Championships in India, back in 2017.
Perennial powerhouse Thailand swept the gold medal with a time of 44.24s while Vietnam took the silver with a time of 44.51s.
Zaidatul who was elated by the record breaking feat said their focus was merely on breaking the National record rather than winning a medal.
“We have long waited to clock below 45 seconds and when we were able to hit a time of 44.58s I was pleasantly surprised because the closest we came to the old record was at the Singapore Open last month where we clocked 45.7s.
“Within a month we were able to dip below 45 seconds and set the record, it’s good for us, thank you coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim who had given a lot of guidance and encouragement,” she told reporters here.
Meanwhile, the men’s 4x100m quartet comprising Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail, Jonathan Nyepa, Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi and Khairul Hafiz Jantan had to be satisfied with a bronze medal after sharing the same time with Singapore. Both countries clocked 39.36 seconds.
The bronze medal was short of the silver that the Malaysian quartet had won at the 2021 Vietnam Games.
Indonesia produced a spectacular performance to claim the gold with a time of 39.11s, beating pre-race favourites Thailand who had to settle for the silver with a time of 39.13s. -Bernama
