Muhammad Azeem grateful for 100m feat, aims to keep momentum in 200m

KUALA LUMPUR: National sprint sensation Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi is grateful for breaking new barriers despite missing out on a medal in the men's 100m of the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.

Muhammad Azeem, 18, said he was proud to have achieved his main target of qualifying for the 100m final where he finished fifth and also smashing the national record with a time of 10.09s in the heats.

"This is not just a personal achievement but also a success for athletics in the country. To me, there is nothing to be disappointed or sad about," he told Bernama today when contacted in Cali.

Muhamamd Azeem said the Cali outing was an invaluable experience which would motivate him to work harder for more success on the international stage.

In the 100m final at the Pascual Guerrero Olympics Stadium this morning Malaysian time, Muhammad Azeem clocked 10.14s, failing to reproduce the form that saw him cracking Khairul Hafiz Jantan's national mark of 10.18s in the heats yesterday.

Botswana's Letsile Tebogo won the race in a world U-20 record time of 9.91s, followed by Bouwahjgie Nkrumie of Jamaica (10.02s) and South Africa's Benjamin Richardson (10.12s) in second and third places respectively.

Hanoi SEA Games 100m and 200m champion Puripol Boonson of Thailand, who is 16 years old, had to settle for fourth place despite clocking the same time as Richardson's.

Muhammad Azeem has been entered for the 200m, which begins tomorrow morning.

He has a personal best of 20.89s, the second fastest ever 200m by a Malaysian after the national record of 20.77s set by Russel Alexander Nasir Taib in 2019.

"I just want to do my best in the 200m, which has many good runners including Boonson, who is one of the favourites. I'm not setting any targets to beat anyone, just to run against myself," said the Perak-born athlete.

Meanwhile, his coach Muhammad Amir Izwan Tan Abdullah said he was proud of Muhammad Azeem's achievement, saying he was the first Malaysian to qualify for the 100m final of the world junior meet.

"I'm satisfied with the performance of Azeem. It's not easy to finish fifth in a world junior championship," he said.

He said Muhammad Azeem's time of 10.09s in the heats was good enough for a bronze in the final.

He said for the 200m, Muhammad Azeem's main aim is to enter the final and any medal or record that comes along the way would be a bonus.

-- BERNAMA