Another lucky break as Jackie moves straight into final

HAMMER thrower Jackie Wong must be the luckiest Malaysian in the Commonwealth Games track and field programme as he has made a straight entry into the final.

The event, with just 13 entries, does not require a qualifying round and this means the SEA Games champion will get another shot at improving his previous performance in 2018 Gold Coast, Australia.

Jackie was also fortunate in Gold Coast where all 16 throwers went straight into the final and he registered 64.35m to finish 14th.

The competition will be difficult this time as Jackie’s season best of 68.13m places him last in the entries led by Canada’s Adam Keenen with his 77.54m.

Defending champion Nick Miller of England, who won gold in 2018 with a Games record of 80.26m, is second in the list with 77.13m.

Jackie, 30, is used to setbacks and tough challenges in life as he was hospitalised for three months after testing positive for Covid-19 in March, 2020 and also suffered concussions after being hit by the hammer during training last October.

Athletics team manager M. Iyaru acknowledged the Sarawakian as one of the most hard-working athletes and is confident the latter will not throw in the towel despite the herculean task at the Alexander Stadium on Saturday.

“I have been following his progress and struggles.

“He is a fighter despite the difficult competition here, I expect him to give his best,” said Iyaru.

“He has been preparing well and the target should be to break the national record.

“There is no pressure and he should be inspired by his opponents in raising his own performance.

“This experience will put him in good stead where he can try to aim for medals at continental competitions,” he added.

Breaking the 70m barrier is something Jackie has been chasing for a long while and this could be the ideal stage for him to achieve the feat as 11 out the 13 competitors have achieved that mark.