Hup Wei quits after 18-year athletics career

KUALA LUMPUR: There will be no last hurrah as national high jump champion and former Asian champion Lee Hup Wei today announced his retirement after 18 years of service to the nation in athletics.

Hup Wei is bidding farewell to the sport he has been involved in since the age of 17, with a collection of proud achievements, such as winning a gold medal at the 2007 Asian Championships in Amman, Jordan, and four gold medals at the SEA Games.

Throughout his career with the national athletics camp, the Kajang-born high-jumper has made three appearances at the Olympic Games, namely Beijing 2008, London 2012 and Tokyo 2020.

Hup Wei, who will turn 35 in May, also competed in three Asian Games, namely Doha 2006, Guangzhou 2010 and Jakarta-Palembang 2018, as well as two appearances at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi 2010 and Gold Coast 2018.

At the Southeast Asian level, Hup Wei made five appearances at the SEA Games - Korat 2007 (gold), Vientiane 2009 (gold), Jakarta-Palembang 2011 (gold), Kuala Lumpur 2017 (silver) and Manila 2019 (gold).

"I am Lee Hup Wei, I retire today ...," he said at a press conference here. "And I thank my family members; my mom, sisters and my wife, no matter how tough I am, they are always behind me to support me every time.

"Secondly, I have to thank KBS (Youth and Sports Ministry), OCM (Olympic Council of Malaysia), NSC (National Sports Council), NSI (National Sports Institute), MAF (Malaysia Athletics Federation) and the Navy (Royal Malaysian Navy )."

Hup Wei's best-ever jump in his 18-year career is 2.29 metres (m), which he did at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha, Qatar.

He also made history by becoming the first and only Malaysian athlete to advance to the finals of the prestigious world tournament since it was introduced in 1938 by the International Athletics Federation (IAAF).

For the record, Hup Wei had previously hinted at retiring while competing at the Manila (2019) SEA Games when he did not rule out the possibility that it would be his last appearance at the biennial sporting event.

However, Hup Wei, who was determined to end his athletics career this year, had recently said that if he was not selected for the Hanoi SEA Games in Vietnam in May, he would decide to retire.

Following his retirement, Hup Wei is expected to coach the national high jump back-up squad. He also plans to open his own academy to produce more talented athletes for the country.

-- BERNAMA