Ankle niggle no hurdle for record setter Fakhrul

PETALING JAYA: National hurdler Mohd Fakhrul Afizul Nasir was not fully fit but that did not stop him from smashing his own 400m hurdles national record to claim gold at the Varsity Track & Field (VTF) Two Championships at Stadium Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) in Terengganu on Friday.

Coach Amirul Naim Abdul Ghani revealed that Fakrul had to deal with an ankle problem but still managed to record a blistering 50.72s, erasing the 51.11s he had set at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) in Kuching – a mark that had stood for two years.

“He was running with an ankle niggle. He wasn’t fully fresh,” Amirul said.

“We had thought 51.4 seconds would have been a good result, given the circumstances. But he went way beyond that.”

The coach’s message to Fakrul’s rivals was unmistakable – if this is what he can produce at less than his best, the competition had better brace themselves.

“Based on our training data, Fakrul can achieve 50 seconds – even 49.

“This is not a surprise to us. It is confirmation that our programme is heading in the right direction,” added Amirul. “There is still plenty of room for improvement.”

Fakrul’s UPM teammate Mohd Aiman Najmi Mohd Anuar – who had set the competition record of 52.77s in the semi-finals – pushed Fakrul hard before settling for silver in 51.49s.

Mohd Adib Irfan Azizan of Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) completed the podium with a bronze-medal time of 52.82s.