KUALA LUMPUR: Is the name of Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Malaysia’s fastest ever runner and former Southeast Asian sprint champion, still in the minds of local athletics fans and sprinters in the region?
After winning gold in the 2017 SEA Games, the national 100m record holder has been struggling to maintain his form due to injury issues and a crisis over the change of coaches which affected his performance.
The 24-year-old Khairul Hafiz, nicknamed ‘The Speedy Jantan’, even failed to defend his gold at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines and could not meet the qualifying mark for the 31st SEA Games in Hanoi last May.
After setting the national record of 10.18s in 2016, Khairul Hafiz’s performance has been going downhill judging from his seasonal bests - 10.24s in 2017, 10.28s (2018), 10.50s (2019) and 10.56s (2022).
However, the 2016 Asian junior champion is not about to throw in the towel yet, saying he is on the right track to roll in good times again, starting with the Islamic Solidarity Games in Konya, Turkiye, from Aug 9 to 18.
He believed he has begun to rediscover his form since coming back under the tutelage of local sprint coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim in April last year.
“Since training full time under coach Poad, Alhamdulillah my (running) times and techniques have improved because he knows how to correct me,” said Khairul Hafiz, who is targeting between 10.3s and 10.4s in Konya, when met recently.
The Melaka-born athlete is also eyeing a place in the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia and is confident of reaching his best in the future.
“Insya-Allah it’s not impossible (to hit peak form again) and I have been doing my best based on what the coach taught me. I have clocked the times set by the coach and I have not missed a single training session,” he added.
In Konya, Khairul Hafiz will also run in the 4x100m together with 2019 SEA Games 100m gold medallist Muhammad Haiqal Hanafi, Muhammad Arsyad Md Saat and Jonathan Nyepa.
Muhammad Haiqal will join Khairul Hafiz in the 100m while Muhammad Arsyad and Jonathan are listed for the 200m. – Bernama
