Danish out to raise the bar in Hong Kong

PETALING JAYA: National sprinter Danish Iftikhar Mohd Roslee (pic) is ready to go full throttle in his bid to impress at the Under-20 Asian Championships in Hong Kong starting tomorrow.

Fresh from competing at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Tokyo, Japan, Danish is eyeing for new bests.

“A season’s best would be a confidence booster and a personal best would be perfect,” said Danish.

“It will be a valuable experience for all in the team.”

The 19-year-old clocked 10.52s to finish eighth in the men’s 100m heats in Tokyo, well outside the personal best of 10.18s which he had set en route to winning bronze at last year’s SEA Games in Thailand.

Overall, the Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris student finished 24th out of 25 competitors.

His season’s best in the 100m stands at 10.46s, recorded when he won gold at the Varsity Track and Field One meet at Universiti Sains Malaysia in April.

Despite the setback, Danish remains optimistic of bouncing back in Hong Kong, where he will also compete in the 200m and 4x100m relay.

Danish expects athletes from Thailand and China to provide stiff competition. “I just want to focus on preparing myself physically and mentally,” he said.

Danish, who will team up with Danish Irfan Tamrin, Mohd Dzul Danish Jamari and Mohd Sayyid Amin Roslan in the 4x100m relay, admitted the quartet are still relatively new as a unit.

“Previously, we competed against each other in the MSSM (Malaysian School Sports Council), but now we are united as one team representing Malaysia.

“In relay events, trust between teammates is very important and, so far, everything has been going smoothly.”