PETALING JAYA: Malaysia Athletics (MA) have retained Mohd Manshahar Abd Jalil as the national head coach but for the jumps discpline as part of a restructuring of the governing body’s coaching system.
Under the new structure introduced by MA, head coaches will be appointed for each major discipline, sprints, jumps, throws, and middle- to long-distance running, in an effort to ensure national training programmes are implemented in a more organised, systematic and focused manner.
Manshahar will not only continue to lead the jumps programme but will also serve as the coaching programme coordinator.
In this role, he will oversee training implementation, performance monitoring and documentation to ensure alignment with MA’s official guidelines.
"The appointments were finalised following a selection process that included evaluations and interviews conducted by an independent panel," said a statement from MA on Monday (March 9).
"In addition to Manshahar, several coaches have been named to the podium coaching set-up, including Mohd Nizam Md Yusof, Mohd Ali Hamid, Zainuddin Yusoff and Ahmad Firdaus Salim."
Former national athletes are also part of the development coaching line-up aimed at strengthening the talent pipeline, with names such as Lee Hup Wei, Mohd Hakimi Ismail and Roslinda Samsu among those appointed.
MA said the restructuring is designed to strengthen the national athletics ecosystem and ensure continuity in athlete development over the next two SEA Games cycles.
The governing body are also expected to recruit several foreign coaches to complement the current structure, with their appointments anticipated after April.
