OSAKA: Hailed as the next big thing in Malaysian athletics, Badrul Hisyam Manap has found himself on a similar route taken by Usain Bolt, the world’s fastest man.
On Tuesday, the 19-year-old speed demon ran on the very track at Yanmar Stadium Nagai in Osaka, Japan, that Bolt, when also at the same age, raced on at the 2007 World Championships.
Remarkably, Badrul finds himself in the same shoes as Bolt, so to speak, as both the Malaysian and the Jamaican are equipped by German sportswear giant Puma.
Badrul, who blazed his way into newspapers headlines with his 10.29s run in the Asean Schools Games in Brunei in November, was invited along with his coach, Poad Kassim, to Osaka for the launch of the Puma Ignite Disc running shoes.
Badrul, who is from Merlimau, Malacca, also took part in test runs and a 4 x 100m relay carnival at the stadium.
About 600 athletes participated in the Puma relay activities.
Among them were runners from Hong Kong, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore and Japanese colleges.
The Yanmar Stadium, the home of J-League club, Cerezo Osaka, is a much storied venue, having hosted three Fifa World Cup matches in 2002: Nigeria vs England, Tunisia vs Japan (first round) and Senegal vs Turkey (quarter-final).
A student of Johor’s Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School, Badrul said he was excited to be in the same stable of the company that backs Bolt.
“I am happy to be given this opportunity by Puma to take part in this event in Osaka,” said Badrul.
“Here at this stadium, I see many images of Bolt, and I really feel inspired,” added Badrul, a Manchester United fan.
Badrul said he used the occasion to do some light training and practise on his strides for the Philippines Open where he won the 100m on Friday.
Coach Poad said with the support of Puma, Badrul will be motivated to train hard and break Watson Nyambek’s 17-year-old national record of 10.30s.
Indeed, the outing at the Yanmar Stadium, where Badrul felt the greatness of Bolt, has ignited the Malaysian’s dream.