THE Malaysian Pre-Olympic Athletic Championships lost some of its lustre after the withdrawal of several national athletes and the scrapping of some events for lack of entries.

The men’s 110m hurdles will see Robani Hassan

The two-day meet, starting today at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, also saw a reduction in the number of foreign participation from 63 athletes to 40 with the Philippines the main culprit, opting to send only one athlete from the promised nine.

With pole vaulter Roslinda Samsu and walker Yuan Yufang either competing or training overseas, the withdrawal of fellow Beijing Olympic qualifier Lee Hup Wei from the high jump has robbed the championships of some of its pulling power.

Hup Wei opted to skip the meet as he is scheduled to leave for Finland on Sunday where he is due to jump in two international competitions as preparation for Beijing.

Injuries too have taken their toll with 400m hurdler Noraseela Khalid and 400m runner Zaiful Zainal Abidin on the sidelines while sprinter Mohd Noor Imran Hadi, who pulled up injured in the Malaysia Games last month, is also doubtful.
Also missing are Ngew Sin Mei from the women's triple jump, Zabidi Ahmad in the men's 100m and Siti Fatima Mohamad from the women's 100m.

The highlight of the championships will be the men's 110m hurdles tomorrow when Robani Hassan and Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian attempt to break the national record of 13.73 seconds to qualify for the Olympics.

Lack of entries have forced the organisers to scrap the men's 4x400m and women's pole vault from the programme.

Meanwhile, Roslinda cleared a season's best of 4.30m to finish fourth in the women's pole vault at the Gran Premio European Permit Meeting in Salamanca, Spain on Wednesday.

Alana Boyd of Australia vaulted 4.40m to deny Roslinda a place on the podium while Tatiana Polnova of Russia cleared 4.70m to win the event ahead of Germany's Nastja Rysich (4.50).