KUALA LUMPUR: National high jump athletes, Nauraj Singh Randhawa and Lee Hup Wei stayed on course to ending the country’s gold drought at the Asian Track and Field (ATF) Championships when they qualified for the men’s final in Doha, Qatar, last night (Monday).
Both high jumpers cleared 2.16 metres to make the finals, which will be held at the Khalifa International Stadium tomorrow (Wednesday).
To qualify for the finals, a jumper must clear either 2.22m or be among the 12 best finishers in the qualifying stage.
The Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) have set Nauraj a gold-medal target at the ATF in a bid to emulate Hup Wei’s effort 12 years ago.
Meanwhile, Muhammad Hakimi Ismail could only clear 15.83m to finish eighth in the men’s triple jump final.
Muhammad Hakimi, who holds the national and Sea Games records of 16.77m, and who set himself a medal target at the ATF, had earlier cleared 16.08m in the B qualifiers to advance to the final.
National sprinter Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail failed to qualify for the men’s 100m final after clocking 10.49s to finish fourth in the first of the three semi-final heats. Bernama