PETALING JAYA: National sprinter Mohd Azeem Fahmi is choosing to channel his energy fully towards the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after being left out from the Commonwealth Games squad.
Malaysia will only be represented by throwers Mohd Irfan Shamsuddin (discus) and Grace Wong (hammer) at the Glasgow Games, which begin on July 23, after Malaysia Athletics (MA) and the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) applied stringent selection criteria.
The 22-year-old Azeem said he respected the selectors’ decision, even though he had hoped for a different outcome.
"I'm not competing in the Commonwealth Games. My focus is 100 percent on the Asian Games but hopefully we can find a few high-level competitions before then, whether local or international," said Azeem.
"The most important thing is that I need another race under my belt to lock in that competitive sharpness.
"I wouldn’t say I was disappointed, but I would have been truly honoured to be selected. It is what it is, it’s the selectors’ decision, and as an athlete, I just do my job. I know where I stand."
Azeem, who won the 100m dash at the Under-23 Asian championships in Ordos, China, said he would focus on rebuilding his conditioning in the next few weeks.
His other main event is the 4x100m relay event together with Danish Iftikhar Mohd Roslee, Pengiran Aidil Auf Bhajan and Armin Zahryl Abdul Latif.
"We’ve been highly consistent, running in the low 39s even with different combinations. We just have to stick with this same lineup," he said.
"Hopefully everyone peaks at the right time and I just hope the schedule works in our favour, so Armin isn’t too exhausted from the 110m hurdles.
"Communication and trust are our key strengths. There’s no need to try anything different, we just execute the same thing again and again. We’re closing the gap, and I believe this team can go under 38.5s.
On his individual progress, Azeem said: "Honestly, I have nothing left to prove. I just want to run freely, without pressure, and believe in myself. My goal going into any competition is simple, I just want to win."
Meanwhile, MA's secretary-general Nurhayati Karim said they did not select Azeem and only chose Irfan and Grace for the Commonwealth Games.
"This was a joint decision made between MA and OCM. While MA provided the initial list of suggestions, the selection was finalised during a mutual meeting between both sports bodies," she said.
"Only the top 10 in Commonwealth will get to go for the Games. The selection panel have significantly reduced the scope of the qualification criteria for this edition. The traditional category A (fully funded) and category B (qualifying on merit but self-funded and reimbursed) slots have been completely removed.
"Because of these incredibly strict parameters, the association cannot send a larger squad even if they wanted to," she said.
