By : Devinder Singh
IT has been a long time coming but in Hakimi Ismail, there is finally an athlete who looks like he can take down Zaki Sadri's 24-year-old national triple jump record.
Hakimi, 22, leapt 16.18m for a new personal best in winning the event at the National Closed Championships in Bukit Jalil yesterday and edged closer towards Zaki's record of 16.29m.
The Pahang-born Hakimi, who won gold for Perak at last year's Malaysia Games, had not been born when Zaki set his record at the 1989 Sea Games at the Merdeka Stadium.
Hakimi, who also took gold at the 2012 Asean University Games, has been eyeing the record since 2011 when he posted 16.15m but he has struggled to match that achievement until yesterday.
He has shown steady progress this year and even won two international meets in Macau and Taiwan last month and should, in the near future, claim not just Zaki's record but also pass the Sea Games qualifying mark of 16.39m.
"It is my best performance so far and I'm not far away from qualifying for the Sea Games. Qualifying for the Sea Games had never been this tough before, usually you do not need to go past 16 metres.
"But this time the standard is much higher and I'll need to beat the national record to qualify. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to do it soon," said Hakimi, who paid his own way to compete at the 2011 Sea Games in Palembang but failed to medal.
Hakimi was not the only one to come within a whisker of earning a ticket to the Sea Games in Myanmar as athlete-coach Jironi Riduan just missed the qualifying mark by 1.04 seconds in the 800m which he won in 1:51.73s.
Jironi, who is combining his own training and coaching 15 students at the Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School in Bandar Penawar, is not too sure when he might get another chance given his work commitments.
"I ran a good second lap but the first was a bit slow. I pushed hard and came so close," said Jironi, 27, a double silver medalist at the 2009 Sea Games in Vientiane.
"It's tough mentally trying to cope with coaching athletes and training on my own but I am enjoying it. I don't know when I will run again, maybe at the Malaysian Open (in October) which could be my last chance to qualify."
RESULTS --
Men's 800m: 1 Jironi Riduan (Sar) 1:51.73s, 2 M. Kesavan (Pk) 1:52.45, 3 Tan Wei Heng (Ked) 1:55.68;
400m hurdles: 1 Firdaus Mazalan (Ked) 53.03s, 2 Baihaqi Razlan (AF) 54.19, 3 Adib Zulhusni Alet (Sar) 54.94;
3,000m steeplechase: 1 Ahmad Luth Hamizan (NS) 9:44.23s, 2 P. Jenarthanam (AF) 10:08.66, 3 Afindi Nudim (AF) 10:17.00;
Triple jump: 1 Hakimi Ismail (AF) 16.18m, 2 Said Aziz (Sab) 15.08, 3 Nik Fariezol Eiman (Ter) 14.94;
Pole vault: 1 Iskandar Alwi (Joh) 4.65m, 2 Fahme Zamzam Mehamad (KL) 4.45, 3 Iqbal Hakim Mustafa (Joh) 4.05;
Hammer: 1 Jackie Wong (Sar) 55.84m, 2 Nizam Zuki (AF) 43.76, 3 Azli Zaina (AF) 36.66;
Junior 800m: 1 S. Deekheegharaan (Pen) 1:57.72s, 2 Rafiq Nazreen (Kel) 2:03.84, 3 Chang Guo Pin (Joh) 2:03.94;
400m hurdles: 1 Firdaus Musa (Pk) 53.10s, 2 Nazmi Suhaimi (Sel) 59.69, 3 Shahrul Izwan (Kel) 61.70;
3,000m steeplechase: 1 B. Vasanthan (Joh) 10:29.50, 2 P. Ramanam (KL) 10:48.93, 3 Izzul Syahmi (NS) 10:49.65;
Triple jump: 1 Syazwan Zakaria (Joh) 14.10m, 2 Alif Izzuddin Shah Arman Shah (Sel) 13.23;
Pole vault: 1 Muhammad Afiq (Joh) 4.45m, 2 Muhd Rahim (Pk) 3.80, 3 Mohammad Nurulharithul (Joh) 3.40;
Hammer: 1 Michael Sia (Sar) 58.35m, 2 Lau Yong Han (KL) 37.05, 3 Faiq Meslan (Joh) 33.36;
Women's 800m: 1 Noor Amelia Musa (KL) 2:20.39s, 2 A. Kalaiyarasi (Sel) 2:24.30, 3 Nurul Ain Jamaludin (AF) 3:25.96;
3,000m steeplechase: 1 Melinder Kaur (AF) 11:24.68s, 2 Joviana Joe (Sab) 13:39.50, 3 Angela Kundang (AF) 14:03.68;
Javelin: 1 Siti Nur Badiah Osman (Joh) 45.35m, 2 Nurfatin Adibah Suharman (AF) 43.36, 3 Syuriani Sikenbar (AF) 41.15;
Hammer: 1 Casier Renee Lee (Sar) 51.88m, 2 Noraida Shuada (NS) 45.19, 3 Patria Pang (AF) 42.75;
Junior 800m: 1 S. Sharmila (Joh) 2:24.13s, 2 Teoh Kim Chi (Ked) 2:28.67, 3 Tan Pei Rou (Sel) 2:34.74;
400m hurdles: 1 Saidatul Izatti (Pk) 66.01s, 2 Leong Ann Gie (Sel) 69.82, 3 Ling Wing Yi (Pk) 72.82;
3,000m steeplechase: 1 Nur Aisyah Mamat (Sar) 12:47.59s, 2 Munirah Ali (Pk) 13:20.21, 3 Farah Almuni Hanum (Pen) 14:19.07;
Javelin: 1 Sherin Kiah Nipa (Joh) 30.15m, 2 Nur Fatin Syahirah (KL) 27.26;
Hammer: 1 Nur Fariza Jalaudin (Sel) 44.30m, 2 Nor Shafinaz Hasnol (Mal) 37.00, Farn Mie Nie (KL) 33.10.
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