Focused: Irfan Shamsuddin in action during the qualifying round of the men’s discus event at the Alexander Stadium. — AFP
IT was not strongman Irfan Shamsuddin’s best show but it did not matter.
Irfan did enough to book his ticket to the final of the men’s discus event at the Alexander Stadium yesterday after registering an average throw of 57.93m in his third attempt.
It was way off his superb 58.26m that saw him winning the SEA Games gold in Hanoi in May.
Irfan was fortunate that none of the competitors rose to the occasion to beat the initial qualifying mark of 65m to the final.
Only the top 12 out of the 15 throwers advanced to the final.
Jamaican Traves Smikle, who was with Irfan in Group A, finished tops with 64.90m while Irfan was fourth.
The spot to the final on Saturday was secured even before the second group of seven competitors took the field.
Irfan eventually finished in 10th spot.
Smikle was the top qualifier followed by Australia’s Matthew Denny (64.63m), Lawrence Okoye of England (63.79m), Alex Rose of Samoa (63.20m) and Scotsman Nicholas Percy (60.68).
Despite a meek performance from Irfan, it was a much better outing as he did not record a throw in his previous outing in 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia.
It almost brought back those memories as Irfan’s first throw was called out but he recorded 52.75m in his second attempt.
Irfan’s progress means Malaysia will now have three athletes in the final.
Jackie Wong benefited from a low turnout in the men’s hammer as all 13 competitors will battle it out in the final on Saturday.
High jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa is also through as there were also 13 participants in the event which takes place today.
Meanwhile, Shereen Samson Vallabouy will also see action in the women’s 400m heats today.
It may be tough for them to win medals but hopes are high that they can crack the national records.
