PHNOM PENH, May 11 — National sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan shook the country’s sports arena six years ago when he won the men’s 100 metres (m) at the 2017 SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.

The glorious moment only lasted for a while as his performance began to decline, apart due to injuries, making him get less attention.

However, the opportunity to perform at the 2023 SEA Games seemed to give a new lease of life to Khairul Hafiz, who is making efforts for a comeback.

Indeed, he appreciates greatly the trust given by the national sprint coach, Mohd Poad Md Kassim, who still includes him on the list to run in Cambodia. The last time Khairul Hafiz represented the national men’s 4x100m quartet was at the 2019 edition in Manila, the Philippines.

Despite not being able to help the men’s 4x100m quartet defend the silver medal at the Morodok Techo National Stadium, here, yesterday, Khairul Hafiz described the achievement of clinching bronze together with his teammates in the event as one of the most meaningful achievements throughout his career as an athlete.

"It’s been a long time since I ran for the Malaysian team and today I helped get a medal. Indeed, I still feel proud even in third place (bronze), I feel like crying.

"I have to admit, I really felt down before, but family, friends and coach Poad never stopped encouraging me,” he told reporters here.

The achievement of winning the 4x100m bronze has inspired him to continue with his training programme to ensure he remains relevant in the national athletics camp.

Yesterday, Khairul Hafiz together with Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail, Jonathan Nyepa and Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi won the bronze medal with a record of 39.36s.

The Indonesian team emerged as the champion of the event with a record of 39.11s, while the Thai quartet in second place with 39.13s.

Meanwhile, Malaysian women sprinter Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, has given a hint that the 2023 SEA Games might be her last appearance at the Games.

Refusing to comment on the matter, Zaidatul said she is proud in being able to help young athletes, namely Azreen Nabila Alias, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Nur Afrina Batrisya Mohd Rizal and Nur Aishah Rofina Aling who are her teammates in the women’s 4x100m quartet, in breaking the six-year national record for the event.

"I am happy to be able to help other runners. Perhaps, my presence in the quartet made them more enthusiastic and bolder,” she said.

Besides clinching the bronze, Zaidatul and her teammates created a sensation with a time of 44.58 seconds (s), thereby breaking the old record of 45.18s set, which she and her then teammates, namely Siti Fatimah Mohamad, S. Komalam, and Nurul Faizah Asma Mazlan, set in 2017 in the 22nd Asian Track and Field Championships (ATF) in India.

Last Tuesday, Zaidatul ended her six-year women’s 200m medal drought by winning a bronze. The last time she won a medal in the event was at the Kuala Lumpur 2017 edition by clinching silver.

She recorded a time of 23.60 seconds (s) behind Singapore runner Veronica Shanti Pereira who managed to defend her gold with a record of 22.69s and the silver went to Thi Nhi Yen Tran from Vietnam (23.54s). — Bernama