HIS first jump was not great, but long jumper Andre Anura Anuar felt he could make amends in the next two. It was not to be.
The Sabahan had the worst of fortunes when his next two jumps were disqualified.
His first jump – a 6.71m, and far from his personal best and national record of 8.02m – became his official result recorded in qualification at the Hangzhou Olympics Sports Stadium yesterday.
It was also far from his season’s best of 7.62m, which he recorded at the Asian Championships in July.
The 24-year-old was a picture of dejection and was left looking at the skies wondering what went wrong.
However, he does not want to dwell on it as he has shifted his attention to the triple jump, his pet event.
“Things just did not go my way,” he said.
“There was some rain but it did not affect my rhythm or jumps.
“It is not over for me yet. I hope to do a good one in the triple jump, hopefully rewriting Hakimi Ismail’s national record.”
The triple jump national record is 16.77m while Andre’s best is 16.51m.
Coach Firdaus Abdul Salim said the sudden weather change could be a factor but he revealed that the long jumper was to prepare for the pet event, which is the triple jump.
“I would not say he made mistakes. I guess it is adapting to the weather.
“Two days before the event, it was scorching and on the event day, it was rainy and cold,” he said.
“Before flying to Hangzhou, both of us planned to use the long jump to rectify some things before the main event, which was the triple jump.
“The good part is, we have several days to repair his run-up problem to ensure he has a solid outing in the triple jump.”
The triple jump event will take place at the Hangzhou Olympic Stadium on Tuesday.
