KUCHING, Aug 22 (Bernama) -- National backup runner Muhammad Fakrul Afizul Nasir, fresh from breaking the national men’s 400-metre (m) hurdles record at the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA), has set his sights on winning a SEA Games medal in Thailand next year.
“My next target is to compete in the 2025 SEA Games. My mindset is to go hunting for a medal at the SEA Games,” said the 20-year-old after his heroics in the men’s 400m hurdles final at the Sarawak Stadium here today.
Muhammad Fakrul, representing Kelantan, breasted the tape in 51.11 seconds (s) to erase his old mark of 51.26s set at the Asian Under-20 Athletics Championships in Yecheon, South Korea in June last year.
It also broke the Games record of 51.79s set by former track ace Mohd Zafril Mohd Zuslaini of Pahang in the 2004 edition in Negeri Sembilan.
“I came here on a mission: to get the gold medal and break my record,” said Muhammad Fakrul, who recently completed his pre-university studies at the Pahang Malaysia Sports School in Gambang.
To achieve his dream of winning a medal at the 2025 SEA Games, Muhammad Fakrul said he intends to bring his time down to below 51s next year.
He is confident he can do just that because, since training under coach Amirul Naim, he has broken the national record twice since switching to the event in July 2022.
“For two years with coach Naim, I’ve broken the record twice. Moving forward, Insya-Allah, there are more records that I will break,” said Muhammad Fakrul, who is making his second SUKMA appearance here after his bronze medal effort in the same event at the 2022 edition.
Meanwhile, today’s men's 400m hurdles final also saw Johor’s Muhammad Aiman Najmi Mohd Anuar (53.20s) and Federal Territories’ Emmanuel Muphy Josbert (53.50s) take silver and bronze.
For the record, Muhammad Fakrul’s 51.26s in the Asian Under-20 meet in Yecheon in June last year smashed the 18-year-old record of 51.28s set by Mohd Shahadan Jamaluddin at the 2005 Philippines SEA Games.
-- BERNAMA
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