KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- National sprint ace Khairul Hafiz Jantan is set to feature in the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines as the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) have agreed to list his name for the 4x100m event under the Category B.
The MAF Selection Committee, which met at the National Sports Council Mini Stadium here today have tentatively put the gold medal winner of the 100m event for the 2017 SEA Games as part of the 4x100m quartet with Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi, Muhammad Zulfikar Ismail and Nixon Kennedy.
Athletics head coach Mohd Manshahar Abd Jalil said the decision also opened up the possibility for Khairul Hafiz to return to the 100m event, but the official decision would only be made known during a committee meeting to be held in the near future.
"We have put his (Khairul Hafiz’s) name on the B-list first, including several other best-ranked 100m athletes in the country. All have been placed first in the 4x100m event as our main focus. But the opportunity remains for him to compete in the 100m with Jonathan Nyepa, who has already qualified,” he said at a press conference announcing the list of track-and-field athletes for the biennial event.
The sprinter known as 'The Speedy Jantan' was listed under Category B despite failing to reach the 10.43s qualifying mark for the SEA Games for the 100m event, finishing with a time of 10.71s during the 2019 MAF Athletics Championship on Friday.
A similar fate befell the country's sprint queen Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, with her name being listed under Category B for the women’s 4x100m event.
Meanwhile, MAF president Datuk SM Muthu said he expected the athletes to improve on their achievements at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games two years ago.
"Our target for this year is only five gold medals compared to eight gold medals in (the) KL (SEA Games), but I hope all the athletes do their best this time around and achieve more," he said.
A total of 18 men and eight women athletes were listed in Category A and 10 men and eight women in Category B.
The following is the full list of athletes who have qualified for the Manila SEA Games in categories A and B:
CATEGORY A
MEN
Jonathan Nyepa (100m)
Russel Alexander Nasir Taib (200m)
Luqmanul Hakim Khairul Akmal (400m)
Royson A.L. Vincent (800m)
Rayzamshah Wan Sofian (110m hurdles)
Mohd Harith Khairul Harun (20km race walk)
Anura@Anuar Andre (long jump)
Mohd Hakimi Ismail (triple jump)
Lee Hup Wei , Nauraj Singh Randhawa (high jump)
Mohd Ziyad Zulkifli (shot put)
Mohd Irfan Shamsuddin, Abdul Rahman Lee (discus throw)
Jackie Wong Siew Cheer (hammer throw)
Muhammad Ilham Suhaimi, Abdul Wafiy Roslan, Mohd Saiful Safwan (4x400m)
Muhaizar Mohammad (marathon)
WOMEN
Shereen Vallabouy (400m)
Elena Goh Ling Wing (10,000m and 20km race walk)
Nurul Alyahaziqah (10,000m race walk)
Kirthana Ramasamy (triple jump)
Norliyana Kamaruddin (high jump and heptathlon)
Yap Sean Yee (high jump)
Choo Kang Ni (discuss throw)
Grace Wong Xiu Mei (hammer throw)
CATEGORY B
MEN
Ahmad Luth Hamizan (3,000m steeplechase)
K. Prabusdas (5,000m)
Abdul Latif Romly (long jump)
Mohd Iskandar Alwi (pole vault)
Ruslem Zikry Putra (400m hurdles, 4x400m)
Sadat Marzuqi Ajisan (hammer throw)
Muhammad Zulfiqar Ismail, Mohd Haiqal Hanafi, Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Nixon Kennedy (4x100m)
WOMEN
Sarvinder Kaur (1,500m)
Chuah Yu Tiang (pole vault)
Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli, Siti Fathimah Mohamad, Nurul Faizah Mazlan, Azreem Nabila Alias, Komalam Shally Selvaretnam (4x100m) Queenie Ting Kung Ni (discus throw)
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