KUALA LUMPUR: Asian schoolboy champion Badrul Hisyam Manap set a new national 100 metres record of 10.29 seconds when he won gold at the Asean Schools Games in Bandar Sri Begawan today.
Badrul, 18, hailed in various quarters as a future sprinting prospect, erased the previous record of 10.30 seconds set by Watson Nyambek just before the 1998 Commonwealth Games.
Malacca-born Badrul won the final with relative ease after finishing almost half-a-second ahead of second-placed teammate Asnawi Hashim, who clocked 10.71 seconds.
The wind measurement was a tailwind of 1.92 metres a seconds, within the legal limit of 2.0.
The win meant Badrul successfully defended the 100m title he won last year in Marikina City, Philippines as part of a sprint double.
Just before the current meet in Brunei, Badrul displayed his potential last month when became the country's fastest 200m runner ever posting 20.88 seconds at the Unimap Open in Arau, faster than Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan's 1968 record of 20.92s.
Unfortunately for Badrul, the time was set with a tailwind exceeding 2.0m/s and cannot be recognised as a record.
However, the performance was enough to mark Badrul as talent for the future after running then-personal bests of 10.48s and 21.31s in the 100m and 200m respectively at the Kedah Open in April.
He then won 200m gold at the Southeast Asian Youth Championships in Naypyidaw before claiming the 100m title at the Asian Schools Championships in Wuhan.