PETALING JAYA: National athletics coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim welcomed the Malaysian Athletics Federation's (MAF) decision to send sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan to Manheim, Germany, where he will undergo training ahead of the IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham next March.
Poad, took the news in his stride, as he strongly believes the one month stint in February would make a world of a difference for the 19-year-old, just like it did before in 2016 ahead of the World Junior Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
"I believe Germany would be the best place for Khairul to train ahead of the world meet because he has trained there before. The facilities are top notch and it would really benefit Khairul.
"When it comes to a major competition like the World Indoor Championships, I want Khairul to do his best and make good time.
"As of now, only Khairul will head to Germany but I really hope MAF would consider sending the 4x100 Meter quartet, as they can all train together," said Poad.
Previously, it was reported that MAF president Datuk Karim Ibrahim has asked Poad to reconsider his proposal of having Khairul train in Japan, as it was too short notice and would have cost a huge sum of money to run alongside Japan's sprint king Abdul Hakim Sani Brown.
On Khairul's hamstring injury, which he picked up at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games (KL2017) in August, Poad added that he will be consulting the National Sports Institute (NSI) again soon.
Poad is also hoping the National Podium Programme would rope the sprinter in, believing it will motivate Khairul more.
Poad, was speaking to reporters after attending the 100PLUS incentive event, where Khairul received RM10,000 for winning the 100m Sea Games gold on a time of 10.38 seconds at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil.
Translated from Berita Harian