KUALA LUMPUR: For Sea Games 400m champion Umar Osman, the paper chase in the United States can be challenging.
The 20-year-old Johorean is eager to train and study at the Auburn State University in Alabama, but he has to sit for an entry examination first.
The national 400m record holder (46.09s) admitted he is nervous to sit for the English-entry exam.
"My dream is to study and train in the US, but it all depends on how I do in the examinations, which will be held in Malaysia," said Umar today.
Azeem Fahmi, who won the 100m bronze at the recent Hangzhou Asian Games, is also studying at Auburn State University and has improved with American training.
Umar will run in three more competitions this year: the Higher Learning Institution Grand Finals at Universiti Malaya this weekend, a Singapore meet on Nov 24-25 and the Innotex Open in Bukit Jalil next month.
"My target next year is to maintain my time of 46 seconds, but it will be great if I can break the national record for the fourth time in competitions," said Umar.
Today, Umar, together with women's discus thrower, Queenie Ting, and marathon runner, Haziq Hamzah, signed a 14-month sponsorship deal with ASICS.