KUALA LUMPUR: An ankle injury played a factor in national high jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa(pix) finishing second at the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi Vietnam.
The 30-year-old athlete said although he tried putting on his best performance, luck was not on his side as he had suffered an injury two weeks before the biennial games started.
“I had tried my best but there were a lot of things that didn’t go as smoothly as I imagined, mainly because I suffered an ankle injury two weeks before (the Games), and I didn’t jump in training.
“Still, I remained confident and was looking forward to it but in the end, I was not able to execute my jump as planned and I was forced to take painkillers,” he told reporters after Ajinomoto (Malaysia) Bhd’s (AMB) appreciation programme for athletes here today.
Nauraj said he was not training currently and undergoing physiotherapy to help him recuperate from his injuries.
Nauraj's failure saw Malaysia’s dominance in the SEA Games men’s high jump event since 2005 come to an end.
The country had previously won the men’s high jump gold medal in every edition of the SEA Games since 1977, except in the 2005 SEA Games in Manila, where Nguyen Duy Bang of Vietnam claimed the top spot.
Meanwhile, national heptathlon athlete Norliyana Kamaruddin said she was determined to continue to improve her performance in future championships even though she was proud of her performance at the 31st SEA Games.
“I am happy with my performance despite winning a bronze because after breaking the national record in 2017, I have never broken any other records. So, of course, I feel this was my best moment,” she said.
The 31-year-old athlete won a bronze medal after collecting 5,262 points while Vietnam’s Nguyen Linh Na (5,415) and Sarah Dequinan (5,381) from the Philippines won gold and silver respectively.
Meanwhile, national women's discus thrower Queenie Ting Kung Ni said she hoped to improve on the precision of her throw ahead of the next competition.
She said she also hoped to be able to qualify on merit for the 2022 Asian Games, which was supposed to be held in Hangzou, China this September, before being postponed.
The Sarawakian gave a fine performance to earn a silver medal with a new national record throw of 52.36 metres at the Hanoi SEA Games
National athletics head coach Mohd Manshahar Abdul Jalil said he would be holding discussions with his team so that they could make early preparations and strategise for a better showing at the Cambodia SEA Games next year.-Bernama
