SEPANG: National junior sprinter Muhammad Hazriq Cik Mat Kilau intends to outshine national 110m hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian and make his mark at the international stage in the event.
Muhammad Hazriq, fresh from his 110m hurdles victory at the Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championship in Bangkok, Thailand last Thursday, also intends to ensure he has a podium finish in every championship he participates in.
“Previously, Rayzam was the one who shone, it’s my turn to bask in the limelight,” the Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tun Hussein Onn state sports school student from Johor told reporters upon his arrival at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport here yesterday.
He also plans to book a slot to next year’s World Youth Athletics Championship in Peru by running under 14.20s at the upcoming 2023 SAECA-BJSS Innotex Athletics Open at the Bukit Jalil Mini Stadium on Dec 19 to 20.
“I expect to hit 13.9 s at Innotex, I believe my coach and the programme I’m in. I will focus on the world championship with the finals as my target,” he said.
Muhammad Hazriq’s recent win, with a time of 13.44s, at the Southeast Asian Youth Athletics Championship also smashed the championship record of 13.71s set by Thailand’s Kittipong Kongdee in Jakarta in 2011.
He also was part of the gold-winning men’s 4x100m team, along with teammates Dylan Leo Saran Stephen, Danish Irfan Tamrin and Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee, and recorded a time of 40.56s.
The Malaysian contingent at the championship, comprising of 25 men and 19 women, won 21 medals overall, four gold, five silver and 12 bronze.
The gold medals came from the men’s 110 m hurdles, men’s 4x100m event, the women’s 100 m sprint (Nur Izzati Eliana Suhaidi — 12.39s), and men’s triple jump (Mark Palladium — 14.78m). — BERNAMA
