NATIONAL sprint ace Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi fell just short of a medal after finishing fourth in the men’s 100m final at the Rhine-Ruhr 2025 FISU World University Games in Lohrheidestadion early this morning, Malaysian time.
Azeem crossed the line in 10.35 seconds, his fastest time across all three rounds in Berlin, including the heats and semis, but still some way off his season best of 10.20s.
South Africa’s Bayanda Walaza stormed to gold in 10.16s, with Thailand’s sprint star Puripol Boonson taking silver in 10.22s. Japan’s Hiroki Yanagita edged Azeem for the bronze with a 10.23s finish.
Earlier, the 22-year-old Auburn University student booked his spot in the final after finishing third in his semi-final heat in 10.43s, behind Walaza (10.31s) and Hungary’s Dominik Mark Illovszky (10.32s).
“Things happened, maybe it just wasn’t meant to be. I gave it my all, and I’m grateful I finished the race. Most importantly, I did my best in these tough weather conditions. Honestly, I’m not used to competing in Europe, but that’s no excuse,” he said.
Muhammad Azeem Mohd Fahmi could not hide his disappointment after narrowly missing out on a medal, finishing just one place shy of the podium.
“I didn’t come here just to make the final. My goal was to reach the podium. Missing out by one spot hurts even more. But this is part of the journey. I need to face moments like this to grow and get better,” said the Hangzhou Asian Games 2022 bronze medallist.
Azeem, who holds the national record of 10.09s, will now turn his attention to the 200m event later tonight (Malaysian time), before anchoring the 4x100m relay team on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Malaysia’s 400m hopeful Umar Osman bowed out in the semi-finals after clocking a disappointing 47.10s, his slowest time of the season, to place sixth in his heat.
“That was my worst performance of the year. I need to improve a lot, especially for the 2025 SEA Games,” admitted the 2023 SEA Games gold medallist.
Over in the women’s 800m, Hizillawanty Jamain may have finished last in her heat, but she still had reason to smile after notching her season-best of 2:18.45s in the first-round heats.
In the women’s 400m hurdles, Mandy Goh Li placed fifth in her heat with a time of 1:03.12s, while Farrell Glenn Felix Jurus crashed out early in the men’s high jump qualifiers.
The athletics competition, which began on Monday, will run through to Sunday. – Bernama
