KUANTAN – With less than three hours to go, Malaysia’s sprint sensation Muhammad Azeem Fahmi is one step closer to improving his chances at the Paris Olympic Games in the 100m event.
Azeem, who faced misfortune in the 200m event yesterday, successfully rectified his mistake by easily advancing to the final of the 100m at today’s Malaysia Open Athletics Championships.
The 20-year-old athlete missed the opportunity to advance to the final of the 200m yesterday after a false start was detected during the semi-finals, thereby missing out on a chance to medal in the event.
However, learning from his mistake yesterday, Azeem appeared more cautious in his start today, and he secured his spot in the final after clocking 10.39 seconds, his fastest time during the semi-finals.
Earlier, Azeem had been the fastest runner in the heats this morning with a time of 10.43s.
“To be honest, the start wasn’t what I expected; it was a very humbling experience for me. But everything is good; I remained patient and didn’t rush because I knew I could catch up with everyone else.
“From the semi-final, I feel good and hopefully I can stay focused and do my best.
“The false start incident haunted me a bit, so I was cautious at the start, and at the same time, I lost focus on executing the race. But everything went smoothly, and the time I clocked was better than the heats, and I hope I can perform even better tonight,” said Azeem after the semi-final race.
Azeem refuted any suggestion that he deliberately falsely started yesterday to prioritise today’s 100m event, especially given his demanding schedule of running three times within 24 hours.
“Actually, yesterday’s event was quite disappointing for me because it has been a while since I last ran the 200m race.
“I felt good and positive about this weekend, but perhaps those factors contributed to my eagerness for the 200m. Things happened, and I’ve already moved on from them. My focus now is entirely on tonight’s race,” he added.
For tonight’s final race, Azeem not only needs to win but also must clock a time below 10.25s to improve his world ranking and qualify for the Paris Olympic Games next month.
Currently ranked 64th in the world, he must break into the top 56 by the end of June to secure his spot in Paris. – June 15, 2024