KUALA LUMPUR: Khairul Hafiz Jantan's campaign at the World Under-20 Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland ended on Wednesday after coming in last in his 100 metres semi-final race.
Although Khairul Hafiz, who only turns 18 on Friday, failed to make the final, his performance in the 100m event remains the best by a Malaysian in 22 years.
Azmi Ibrahim was the first Malaysian to make the semi-finals of a track event at the championships in 1994 until Khairul Hafiz's emergence.
The Asian junior champion sprinter clocked 10.58 seconds in the semi-finals, considerably slower than the 10.44 time he registered in the heats on Tuesday.
South Africa's Tlotliso Leotlela won the semi-final in 10.20 seconds after Khairul Hafiz, who finished with a ranking of 21st overall, fell behind at the halfway mark.
Earlier on Wednesday, Rizzua Haizad Muhammad finished sixth in his heat of the boys' 110m hurdles.
Rizzua, the slowest out of the blocks of the nine runners, clocked 13.98 seconds compared to his personal best of 13.87 to rank 31st overall.
R. Kirthana, the only Malaysian left at the championships, will compete in the girls' long jump qualifying on Thursday.