No hurdles too high for Armin and Fatin thanks to extra lift

SERDANG: Two hurdlers were propelled by extra motivations as they leapt to gold at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) yesterday.

For Mohd Armin Zahryl Abdul Latif, retaining his 110m hurdles title was made sweeter by the presence of his mother, Hanariah Omar, who was in the stands watching him.

In the women’s 100m hurdles, Kelantan’s Fatin Nashira Mohd Fadzil erased the memory of a fall in the same event two years ago to claim gold in what was her final Sukma appearance.

The 21-year-old Armin, whose mum was not present when he won gold two years ago in Sarawak, said her presence this time gave him an extra boost.

“Having my mum here makes me feel motivated. I knew that I had to win for her,” said Armin, who registered a new Games record of 13.66s at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Stadium.

His time shattered the mark of 13.78s set by Johor’s Mohd Hazriq Cik Mat Kilau in the morning’s semi-final heat.

Armin was also just 0.08s off his own personal best and national record (13.58s), which he clocked at the Asian Under-23 Championships in China last month.

Hazriq settled for silver with a time of 13.83s while Federal Territories’ Rizki A’Limi Mohd Zahizal claimed bronze in 13.96s.

As for Fatin, she said her victory was satisfying as it was the perfect ending to her last outing.

“I did my best because this is my last Sukma, and I’m very satisfied.

“Every race, I’m afraid of falling over the hurdles but this time I managed to overcome it,” said the 19-year-old Fatin, whose winning time of 14.49s was outside her personal best of 14.45s.

Perak’s Farah Syakira Azizsafar and Selangor’s Syarifah Alisya Syed Zarfina completed the podium, with 14.52s and 14.55s respectively.