Continue to hone the skills of Muhammad Azeem - Ahmad Faizal

KUALA LUMPUR: The precocious talent of sprint sensation Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi needs to be further nurtured for him to scale greater heights in the future, said Youth and Sports Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

He said the 18-year-old sprinter had delighted Malaysians by finishing fifth in the men's 100m final of the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Cali, Colombia.

What was even more commendable was that Muhammad Azeem broke the national record by clocking 10.09s in the heats, he said in a statement today.

"KBS (Youth and Sports Ministry) will continue to support any efforts aimed at improving the achievements of athletes in all disciplines for the sake of progress of national sports," he added.

Ahmad Faizal announced that KBS was considering to upgrade the running tracks of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Gunung Rapat in Ipoh in an effort to produce more athletes with great potential.

SMK Gunung Rapat is a sports cluster school which has produced many good athletes, including Muhammad Azeem.

"It is hoped that efforts to develop the local sports industry will receive the support of all parties so that Malaysia's name can continue to shine on the international stage," he said.

Apart from cracking the national record in the heats yesterday, Muhammad Azeem also achieved his main target in Cali by qualifying for the final after finishing second in semi-final heat three with a time of 10.19s at about 4.50 am Malaysian time today.

In the final, he finished fifth in 10.14s, behind Botswana's Letsile Tebogo who won in a world U-20 record time of 9.91s, silver medallist Bouwahjgie Nkrumie of Jamaica (10.02s) and South Africa's Benjamin Richardson who took bronze (10.12s).

The Perak-born Muhammad Azeem will run in the 200m in Cali tomorrow morning Malaysian time.

-- BERNAMA