PETALING JAYA: Malaysian middle-distance runner Umar Osman dipped under the 46-second mark for the second time this year, storming to men's 400m gold at the Hong Kong Open.
Despite heavy rain and a slippery track at the Wan Chai Sports Park on Saturday (June 13), the 22-year-old was imperious from start to finish, clocking a superb 45.97s.
Taiwan's Wu Cheng-yen took silver in 46.87s, while Hong Kong's Chan Chun Ho settled for bronze in 46.91s, a new Hong Kong national record.
Fellow Malaysian Mohd Aiman Najmi Mohd Anuar finished fifth in 48.30s.
The Johorean set the Malaysian 400m record of 45.73s during the semi-finals of the New Taipei City Athletics Open in Taiwan on June 6, becoming the first Malaysian man to break 46 seconds.
He went on to claim silver in that meet's final, clocking 46.42s.
In the women's 200m final, Shereen Samson Vallabouy claimed silver with a time of 24.24s, finishing behind Singapore's Veronica Shanti Pereira, who underlined her status as the region's top sprinter with a winning time of 23.32s.
The 27-year-old Shereen from Ipoh was also in action over 100m, finishing fourth in the final in 11.78s, just 0.01s shy of bronze medallist Chan Pui Kei of Hong Kong, who clocked 11.77s.
Veronica claimed her second gold of the meet in that race, winning in 11.43s, with Thailand's Sukanda Petraksa taking silver in 11.57s.
Shereen had booked her spot in the 100m final by finishing fourth in her semi-final heat with a time of 12.00s.
Pui Kei topped that heat in 11.81s, ahead of fellow Hong Kong athletes Chuang Yin Yin (11.92s) and Yu Pui Yi (11.96s), who took second and third respectively.
