PETALING JAYA: National 400m hurdles record holder Fakhrul Afizul Nasir has appealed to Malaysia Athletics (MA) after being left out of the 2025 SEA Games squad.
His coach, Amirul Naim Abdul Ghani, said he contacted national head coach Manshahar Abdul Jalil on Nov 19 and was told to file a formal appeal.
For the Games, MA selected Mohd Aiman Najmi Mohd Anuar, who clocked 52.73s when finishing behind Fakhrul at the MA International Meet on May 4.
Fakhrul, 21, had qualified under Category A with 51.97s at the same meet.
However, his omission followed his 53.12s at the Varsity Track and Field (VTF) Grand Final on Nov 13 – a result that fell short of the sub-52s benchmark set by coaches.
Amirul felt the evaluation should consider Fakhrul’s return from a Grade 3 hamstring tear suffered at the World University Games.
"Considering he had just recovered, running 53.1 is actually quite good," he said.
"I’m only asking for reconsideration. If the appeal doesn’t succeed, we accept it,” said Amirul, adding that the situation has been tough on the young athlete.
Despite the setback, Amirul, who holds the national record of 51.11s and swept all six legs of last year’s 400m hurdles Super Series, remains confident.
"With the Asian Games, Commonwealth Games and Asian Under-23 Championships ahead, we still have many targets," said the Universiti Putra Malaysia student.
Manshahar said MA’s secretary-general will issue an official statement soon.
