By Ahmad Nazrin Syahmi Mohamad Arif
KUCHING, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Johor youngster Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee, winner of the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) 100-metre (m) gold medal, has the makings to challenge national record holder Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi for the status of Malaysian speed king.
That’s because the 17-year-old has already showed his true colours en route to winning the blue riband event by overcoming several older sprinters in his maiden appearance at the biennial Games.
Yesterday, Danish Iftikhar blazed his way to the gold medal at the Sarawak Stadium here by clocking 10.53s. Selangor’s Danish Irfan Tamrin (10.60s) was second and Pahang’s Muhammad Efrain Feerzan Qhan Mohd Yazid (10.66s) third.
Meanwhile, Danish Iftikhar admitted that he wants to follow in the footsteps of Muhammad Azeem.
“I want to be as good as him (Muhammad Azeem). At the same time, he has given me lots of advice also,” said Danish Iftikhar, who also dreams of breaking the national 100m record one day.
The young Johor sprinter will be back on the track today for the 200m event and the 4x100m on Friday as he aims to help the state add to its gold collection.
For now, his feat has attracted the attention of national sprint legend Watson Nyambek, who admitted that the youngster had the potential to become a sprint ace.
“He (Danish Iftikhar) has the potential, with his young age, his athletics career is just starting. This gem must be polished properly,” Watson, the 100m silver medallist at the 1998 Asian Athletics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan, told Bernama today.
Watson, nicknamed “The Flying Dayak”, had also made two Olympic appearances in the 100m event at the 1996 Atlanta and 2000 Sydney editions.
Watson also held the national 100m record of 10.30 seconds (s) for 18 years before Melaka sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan eclipsed it with a blistering 10.18s run en route to the gold medal at the 2016 SUKMA here.
That record was later erased by Muhammad Azeem, who clocked 10.09s during the heats of the 2022 World Athletics Under-20 Championships in Cali, Colombia.
Muhammad Azeem recently took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics and his journey ended in the first round after he clocked 10.45s.
-- BERNAMA
