KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 (Bernama) --The country's number one tower runner, Soh Wai Ching, has set a New Year's goal to reclaim the world number one spot in 2025.
The 2024 Tower Running World Champion said he will ensure that mission is achieved by November next year by reclaiming the championship at the biggest tournament, the Shanghai Tower International Vertical Marathon that month.
"This year, I only got number 11 in one tournament, which was in Shanghai. I was not feeling well and got number 11. It's a tournament with big points so when I lost, my ranking dropped to second place.
"Next year, I want to make up for the disappointment by getting number one in the tournament in November, thus raising my ranking," he told Bernama recently.
Wai Ching missed out on the world No. 1 ranking after finishing 11th at the Shanghai Tower International Vertical Marathon last month, when food poisoning severely affected his performance and prevented him from setting a personal best or competing for the win.
Meanwhile, the 30-year-old athlete also aims to increase his winning percentage in the tournaments he will participate in to 90 per cent wins compared to the 78 per cent wins he achieved this year.
He said he will also start this year by participating in the big International Vertical Marathon PingAn tournament which provides 200 points on Jan 11 followed by the StairClimbing Championship in Osaka, Japan on Feb 16.
“I will make sure I win this tournament,” he said.
The Selayang-born athlete this year carved a name for himself as a world champion when he conquered the top of Taipei 101 in Taiwan as the champion of the World Tower Running Championship in May besides dominating the open men's category of the 2024 Naza Tower Run.
He also successfully defended his championship for three consecutive years in the Scale the Strat tower building stair race in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States in February.
Meanwhile, Malaysian Tower Running Association president Ravinder Singh said his party will be organising three prestigious tournaments that will provide a lot of points in the country for 2025.
"This year in Malaysia we have 15 tournaments, but the weakness is that the world points are not high, so next year we will organise three big tournaments in Malaysia, namely two tournaments with 200 points, and one with 120 points.
"This is to ensure that many national athletes can participate in this tournament, thus adding points and improving the world ranking," he said.
-- BERNAMA
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