KUALA LUMPUR: No injury is going to stop sprint sensation Azeem Fahmi from competing in the 200m in the Athletics Challenge Cup in Niigata City, Japan, on Oct 1-2.
The country's fastest man suffered a right thigh injury just before crossing the finishing line in the Malaysia Games 200m final at the National Stadium on Sept 18.
Azeem, who holds the national 100m record of 10.09, won the blue riband event in 10.25 at the Games.
And in the 200m. he led the race, but slowed down in the last 10 metres due to injury. He posted 21.03 for silver.
Coach Amir Izwan said a check at the National Sports Institute last week showed that Azeem had a muscle strain, and not a hamstring injury.
"It was a relief for Azeem and he has been given the green light to train. He started his training (Saturday) at Bukit Jalil.
"He's looking forward to the meet in Japan. I'm not setting any target for him, I want him to enjoy the run as this is an invitational meet with a few selected events," said Amir.
The 18-year-old Azeem, who has qualified for the 100m in next year's Hangzhou Asian Games, said he hopes to clock below 21 seconds in Japan. He has a personal best of 20.83 clocked at the World Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia, last month.
Men's high jumper Eizlan Dahalan and women's discus thrower Queenie Ting will also feature in the Athletics Challenge Cup in Japan.
Sabahan Eizlan, 23, did a personal best of 2.18m to win bronze in the Hanoi Sea Games in May while Queenie, 24, rewrote her national record in the Sea Games with a throw of 52.36m to win silver.