KUANTAN – Malaysia’s sprint queen, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, believes that she cannot afford to get too comfortable after dominating the national women’s sprinting scene for so long.
At 30-years-old, Zaidatul continues to remain unchallenged by any other female runner in the country, as evidenced by her victory in the 100m at the Malaysia Open yesterday.
However, she was not entirely satisfied with her time of 11.79sec, recognising that many young athletes were now starting to close the gap.
To remain relevant and maintain her position as a pillar for the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand next year, Zaidatul is determined to achieve her best times.
Her personal best in the 100m is 11.56sec, set at the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok last July, while in the 200m, she clocked 23.56sec at the SEA Games in Phnom Penh two months prior.
“Personally, I’m not entirely satisfied with my recent timing, but I am pleased with the progress shown by our juniors. While they haven’t surpassed me yet, they are achieving excellent results.
“I’m particularly impressed with Nur Afrina Batrisyia (Mohamad Rizal), Azreen Nabila (Alias), and newcomer from Terengganu, Izzatul Musfirah (Ahmad Kamal Azira).
“For example, Afrina, who trains alongside me, is only 20-years-old, and I’ve seen her ability, discipline and spirit grow tremendously.
“Therefore, I need to work even harder and not get complacent. Our juniors are improving, and I cannot settle with timings around 12sec or more.
“If I continue with such timings, they will easily surpass me one day,” said Zaidatul, who competed in the 2016 Rio Olympics.
So far, Zaidatul has not considered retiring as she still has the strength to continue representing the country.
However, if the time comes when she is no longer able, Zaidatul feels confident that she can pass on her responsibilities as a national runner, considering Malaysia now has a potential line-up of successors who can carry on Malaysia’s legacy in sprinting in this region.
“After I retire, they will be the ones to replace me,” she added. – June 17, 2024