Wicketkeeper Harinder on top of the Guinness World

PETALING JAYA: National cricket wicketkeeper Harinder Sekhon is jumping for joy as he’s on top of the world!

The 29-year-old has made Malaysia proud after getting his name in the Guinness World Record by setting a new standing jump on one leg record with a leap of 1.384m. The mark was verified by the world body on its website.

Setting a benchmark: Harinder Sekhon set a new standing jump on one leg world record with a leap of 1.384m.

The previous record was held by Canadian Evan Ungar, who recorded 1.346m.

Harinder had made his way into the Malaysia Book of Records in March when he broke the national record for the highest standing jump with 1.397m.

He was thrilled about ascending from the national to the world record.

“I feel a sense of shock when I think about it and I get a little emotional when I see it on video. I’ve put in a lot of work and sacrifice to achieve this. The response I’m getting for it from the worldwide jumping community is overwhelming. I’d like to thank everyone for their love and support, ” said Harinder.

“I had to stay mentally and physically tough throughout the four-to-five month period where I was training really hard.

“Being a maths teacher during the day and fitting in cricket training every odd day was challenging. Sticking to a super clean diet was also tough.”

Harinder said he started doing jumps just for his fitness, but it became an obsession when he realised that he could jump higher in every training session.

“Breaking a world record was just a far-fetched thought in the past, but now I believe that you have to achieve the big targets if you want to be the best.”

On his future goals, he said: “The national standing long jump record is my next target and hopefully, the world standing jump mark in the future. But in between, I’m sure I’ll try to break other records.”