Zaidatul Needs To Wait A Bit Longer For WA Ratification

KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 6 (Bernama) -- Sprint queen Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli may have to wait longer than expected earlier to have her national 100m record ratified by the World Athletics (WA).

Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) Technical Director Robert Ballard, who previously assured Zaidatul Husniah that the issue would be resolved by Sunday, expects WA to update the information submitted by the national athletics governing body soon, following a long festive break.

“World Athletics only returned to work today after a 10-day break. I can only assume they will be inundated with many requests from all over the world. I am sure they will attend to the updated information provided to them as soon as practicable,” he told Bernama.

According to previous media reports, the 31-year-old’s 11.49-second mark, set at the Perlis Open Athletics Championship last October, has yet to be recognised by WA due to issues with documentation related to wind readings.

The mark erased G. Shanti’s long-standing women’s 100m national record of 11.50s set in Kuala Lumpur on May 7, 1993, just a few months before Zaidatul Husniah was born in Aug 20. 

Zaidatul Husniah, fondly known as ‘Adeq,’ said on Saturday that Ballard had assured her the issue would be resolved within 48 hours since Friday.

She remains highly hopeful about the ratification of her 11.49s record, especially after her 11.36s mark at the AGN League 7 Athletics Championship in Pretoria, South Africa, in 2017 was not recognised due to wind assistance.

Meanwhile, Ballard clarified that MAF had ratified Muhammad Fakrul Afizul Nasir’s 51.11s time set at the 2024 Malaysian Games (SUKMA) in Kuching, Sarawak, as the national men’s 400m hurdles record, though the results were not published on the WA website.

“The only meets a nation reports results for are WA permit meets, SUKMA was not a World Athletics permit meet. For example, Fakrul Afizul’s record at SUKMA is not registered with WA and cannot count towards any world ranking points or qualifications for WA events such as the World Championships, Olympics or World Under-20 (Championship).

“However, MAF recognised the performance as a national record because SUKMA athletics was run under MAF sanctioning. So, if you go to the WA website, it will not show Fakrul’s SUKMA performance,” he explained.

The Australian said  for the first time ever, Malaysia held seven WA-permitted meets last year, including the Malaysia Open and Super Series events in Johor, Perak, Pahang, Terengganu, Perlis and Sarawak.

He added that MAF is still awaiting wind readings for all the required events from the Sarawak Super Series finals, held from Nov 16-17.

-- BERNAMA