Deaflympics: Sprinters Muhammad Zamir, Hazrul Shah Fail To Get Past Semis

From Farah Najihah Zuraimi

TOKYO, Nov 18 (Bernama) -- Southeast Asian deaf sprint king Muhammad Zamir Azman and compatriot Hazrul Shah Hamri's challenge in the men's 100-metre event came to an abrupt halt at the semi-final stage of the Deaflympics 2025 at the Komazawa Metropolitan Stadium here today.

Both finished last in their heats. Muhammad Zamir clocked 11.47 seconds (s) in Heat 3, while Hazrul Shah finished in 11.73s in Heat 1.

"I was physically and mentally prepared, but the weather today was extremely cold, unlike yesterday. It was difficult for me to even breathe.

"However, I am satisfied with my performance here, though I hope I can do much better in my next event, the 200m,” he said through a sign language interpreter.

Asked about the false start by a runner near him, he admitted to initially assuming that he had been yellow-carded.

Earlier in the semi-finals, Japan's Sasaki Takuma and South Korea's Gong Hyeokjun advanced to the final from Heat 1, while Estonia's Visnap Tanel and Colombia's Andrade Mosquera Gian Marco went through from Heat 2.

For the 100m event, only the top two sprinters from each heat and the next two fastest qualified for the final.

Meanwhile, Hazrul Shah said he did the best he could despite suffering from joint pains due to the extremely cold weather conditions.

"I gave it my everything. We are used to training in hot and humid conditions, but what we faced here is totally the opposite. I hope I am still in good physical and mental state for my next event,” he said.

Muhammad Zamir, Hazrul Shah and Muhammad Zumar Azman will carry Malaysia's challenge in the men's 200m event on Friday.

-- BERNAMA