This is the emotive story of a poor boy who dreams of becoming Malaysia’s fastest man though he had to face personal tragedy.
Badrul Hisyam Manap grew up as an aspiring athlete in Merlimau, Malacca, but when he was 14, his father, a factory worker, died of lung disease.
Despite those trying days of uncertainty, Badrul braved on, committing himself, blood, sweat and tears, to training, helped by his coach Poad Kassim, who also became a father figure to him.
Poad, 47, recalled that a few years back, Badrul trained so hard that he suffered stomach cramps and fainted. An ambulance had to be called in.
Less than a year ago, Badrul was relatively unknown in the local sports scene but all that changed when he ran a stunning 10.29 seconds to win the 100m gold in the Asean Schools Games in Brunei in November.
Badrul’s 10.29 mark created much excitement as it was faster than Watson Nyambek’s 17-year-old national record of 10.30. But, eventually it was not officially recognised due to improperly placed wind instrument.
Nonetheless, with just one blistering run, Badrul, 19, has done enough for many athletics fans to sit up and take notice of him.
And, recognising his great potential, Puma has decided to be his sponsor, and the first thing the German sportswear giant did, after signing a deal with Badrul, was to send him and Poad to Osaka last week to try out its latest Ignite Disc shoes.
Puma, it can be said, has a good instinct for winners. They signed on Usain Bolt as a callow youth, even before he became world and Olympic champion, and the world’s fastest man.
Poad, a former primary school teacher, said he tried to help out Badrul after he lost his father. “His mother is a housewife and she gets some government welfare help. He has an elder sister,” said Poad who has been coaching Badrul since he was 10 years old.
Over the years, Badrul and Poad have forged a strong father and son bond as they train and go for competitions together. Badrul calls Poad “coach” and Poad calls Badrul “Bad”.
Both are based at Tunku Mahkota Ismail Sports School in Johor where Poad is its track and field coach and Badrul is doing his pre-university studies.
Badrul said: “‘Coach’ is like a father to me. He has helped me and my family over the years.”
Poad has five sons and two daughters but none of his children are sprinters. To be a good 100m runner, one must be born with fast-twitch muscles, and Badrul, clearly, has plenty of that.
Tan Sri Dr M. Jegathesan, hailed as Asia’s fastest man after winning the 100m gold at the 1966 Bangkok Asian Games, noted that the sinewy Badrul, at 1.65m and 56kg, has the right body physique and running style.
Blessed with a fine-tuned nervous system, Badrul packs an explosive start that rockets him away from his rivals.
A Manchester United fan, Badrul follows a diet programme provided by a National Sports Institute nutrition expert though his favourite meal is nasi goreng pattaya and his preferred drink is iced Milo.
Ironically, the rise of Badrul comes at a time when all is not going well with the man whose very record he is trying to break.
Sarawakian Watson was reported to have been declared a bankrupt after he could not repay a bank for an RM80,000 loan to pay for his late father’s cancer treatments.
You feel sorry for Watson. For all his athletics prowess, for all the glories he brought to the country, he was brought to his knees by a RM80,000 debt. All for trying to save his father.
It’s not as if Watson had been enjoying living life in the fast lane or overspending. In fact, he and his wife, Fellizia, try to earn some extra money by selling fruits near shopping malls and also handmade bags, and going around to conduct coaching clinics in schools.
Known as the Flying Dayak, Watson said he couldn’t settle the loan because of his low pay with the Sarawak Sports Council as an athletics coach. It was only after news of his plight broke out that offers of assistance from the state government and others started to fly in.
Both Watson and Badrul have lost their fathers and for the former, he has only his prized national 100m record left.
But, Badrul intends to take that away from Watson. However, according to fans of Watson’s, his 10.30 national record will be “very hard” to break and will be around for a long time.
Only time will tell. After all, Badrul is still young and he has time on his side.
And, it’s only a split second difference between him and Watson.
NST deputy sports editor Chan Wai Kong sees life differently after waking up from a coma following a car accident in Vancouver