KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 13 ― Former national women's sprinter Anita Ali died at the University of Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) here at the age of 59 yesterday.

The news of the passing of the athlete who had competed in the SEA Games in the 80s was shared by the National Athletes’ Welfare Foundation (YAKEB) chairman Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majeed when contacted by Bernama.

He said the deceased died at about 7.15 pm yesterday (Jan 12) due to breast cancer she had previously, which spread to the liver and spine.

"Last December, the deceased was admitted to the University Malaya Medical Centre (PPUM) and YAKEB took her to a private hospital for a PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scan, where it was found that her cancer was worsening,

"She fought hard against cancer but she died yesterday on her birthday," he said.

Noorul Ariffin said the demise of Anita, who had participated in the 1990 Asian Games in China, was a great loss to the country's sports arena.

He said Anita, who was a YAKED member, gave a lot of advice to the young athletes to continue making the country proud.

At the 1989 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur, Anita, who was 21 at the time, broke the national record for the 4x100 metres relay in 45.37 seconds with her partner G. Shanti, Sajaratuldur Hamzah, and Datuk Mumtaz Jaafar. ― Bernama