Malaysian sprinter Danish Iftikhar clinched 200m bronze at the SEA Games, breaking the national record with a time of 20.73 seconds
NATIONAL sprint talent Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee won a bronze medal in the men’s 200 metres final at the 33rd SEA Games.
His time of 20.73 seconds broke the national record of 20.77 seconds set by Russel Taib at the 2019 Queensland Track Classic.
Competing at the Suphachalasai National Stadium, Danish finished just 0.01 seconds behind Singapore’s Marc Brian Louis, who took silver with 20.72s.
Home favourite Puripol Boonson claimed gold with a time of 20.07s, breaking his own Games record.
“I never expected to break the record, but thankfully I did, and it’s now my new PB,” said the 18-year-old after the final.
He expressed gratitude for achieving a podium finish for the second time in his SEA Games debut.
The Johor-born athlete said he followed his parents’ advice to focus on himself during the race.
On racing against Puripol, the Malaysia Games 2024 sprint king called it a valuable experience for his career.
“If I am blessed after this, I’ll try to give Puripol even stronger competition,” he added.
Danish Iftikhar also won a bronze medal in the 100m sprint on Thursday.
Meanwhile, national women’s sprinter Nur Afrina Batrisyia Mohamad Rizal finished seventh in the women’s 200m final with a time of 24.52 seconds.
Singapore’s Veronica Shanti Pereira won gold in 23.05s, while Vietnam’s Le Thi Cam Tu took silver and the Philippines’ Zion Rose Nelson earned bronze. – Bernama
