AS a teenager, Lee Hup Wei dreamed of competing in athletics’ World Championships. On Tuesday, the high jumper not only realised his dream in Doha, Qatar, but made history when he became the first Malaysian track and field athlete to reach the final of the prestigious World Championships since it was first held in 1976.
In the preliminary rounds, Hup Wei had finished a creditable ninth out of 31 contenders to be among 12 finalists.
In retrospect, Hup Wei would not have been able to go to Doha to compete in the World Championships if not for a wild card given by the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) as he had not qualified on merit.
The Kajang-born athlete duly repaid MAF’s faith in him by leaping to a personal best of 2.29m in his final jump in Group B to book a spot in tomorrow’s final at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Hup Wei's previous best of 2.28m was set in Australia last year when he came out tops in the Canberra Open.
Thanking the MAF for giving him the wild card and his Uzbek coach, Aleksandr Gasparyan, Hup Wei was glad to have silenced his critics.
“All these years, people have never trusted in my ability. They think I've aged and I am not a serious contender anymore,” the 32-year-old told Timesport yesterday.
“I never let those comments bring me down. Instead, I used it as a motivation to push myself.
“Since I got involved in the sport at the age of 15, it has always been my dream to compete in the World Championships. I finally did it.
“I am really excited to represent Malaysia in the final. I am extremely happy,” said Hup Wei, whose mark is just 0.01m shy of the national record (2.30m) held by Nauraj Singh Randhawa.
Hup Wei, who is the 2007 Asian champion, said the MAF made the right decision to award him the wild card as he has been Malaysia’s best this year.
“My personal best this year has been 2.27m and I am currently ranked No 22 in the world.
“The MAF have been very fair in their selection,” he added.
Nauraj, who trains under Australian Alex Steward, is currently ranked No 53 in the world.
The great rivalry between Hup Wei and Nauraj has pushed both men to excel, and leading to the high jump event in the Sea Games being reduced to just a two-horse race.
At the 2017 Kuala Lumpur Sea Games, Hup Wei was edged by Nauraj for the gold after both cleared 2.24m. Nauraj was declared the winner on countback after taking fewer attempts.
On his target for tomorrow’s final, Hup Wei said: “It's going to be tough because the starting jump is about 2.20m and I’ve never started with those heights before.
“But there is no pressure on me. I will go all out.”
Olympic silver medallist, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar, who has a personal best of 2.43m, is favourite to win gold in the final.
World Championships men’s high jump finalists:
1. Maksim Nedasekau (Blr)
2. Lee Hup Wei
3. Luis Enrique Zayas (Cuba)
4. Michael Mason (Can)
5. Mutaz Essa Barshim (Qatar)
6. Mikhail Akimenko (Rus)
7. Brandon Starc (Aus)
8. Yu Wang (Chn)
9. Jeron Robinson (US)
10. Gianmarco Tamberi (Italy)
11. Ilya Ivanyuk (Rus)
12. Luis Castro Rivera (Puerto Rico)