NATIONAL athletes Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam and Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli captured the men’s and women’s 200-metre sprint titles respectively at the 2025 Malaysian Open Athletics Championships.
Pengiran Aidil, representing Sabah, secured victory with a time of 21.42 seconds at Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium.
Singaporean athlete Praharsh Ryan finished second with 21.57 seconds while Reeve Kua Man Hong of the Federal Territory Sports Council took third place in 21.88 seconds.
Zaidatul Husniah continued her dominant form by winning the women’s race in 24.57 seconds for Kedah.
Sabah’s Siti Norjahera Beliamor claimed second position with 25.54 seconds followed by Adriana Shahryll Nizam of Negeri Sembilan in 26.09 seconds.
Pengiran Aidil expressed satisfaction with his performance despite not breaking his personal best of 21.21 seconds set earlier this year.
The twenty-year-old athlete had targeted victory in the 200-metre event and achieved his goal despite feeling fatigued.
Zaidatul Husniah had also won the 100-metre sprint event on the previous day of competition.
The thirty-two-year-old sprinter expressed happiness with her performance and emphasised the importance of giving younger athletes competitive experience.
Six hundred fifty-eight athletes from nineteen domestic teams and ten foreign countries are participating in the championships.
The event features competitors from Algeria, China, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines.
National athletes are using the competition as preparation for the upcoming SEA Games in Thailand this December. – Bernama
