Foul!

As published in The Mole today Subramaniam and Ashvinderjeet sharing a light moment at the Astaka on March 6. - Picture by Haresh Deol By Haresh Deol ASHVINDERJEET SINGH walks at remarkable speeds as his hips dance gracefully to the rhythm of his pace. He goes around the track at the Titiwangsa Lake Gardens’ Astaka almost daily, under the watchful eyes of his coach V. Subramaniam, the 1978 National Sportsman of the Year. Walking, in athletics, is an art. It requires little investment (in equipment) but promises the greatest gift any Malaysian athlete yearns for – an Olympic medal. “Some of my friends say walking is more suited for girls, because of the way the hips move. But I don’t care,” said Ashvinderjeet, who turns 14 on April 24. Ashvinderjeet could turn out to be Kuala Lumpur’s medal prospect in the National Schools Sports Council (MSSM) athletics meet next month. He hopes to make the city team during the selection process scheduled next week. “My personal...

UPDATE 1.15am: Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) president Karim Ibrahim, after reading this article, had in a WhatsApp message at 1.13am, said: "MAF will include Lee in the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games." That reply itself is a record - exactly five minutes after this posting was published! --- ORIGINAL POST National high jumper Lee Hup Wei  (pic) claimed  his second gold medal in the New South Wales Open Athletics Championships in Sydney on Feb 4. The 30-year-old and his teammate Nauraj Singh Randhawa both cleared 2.24m but Hup Wei was awarded the gold on count back. Hup Wei's effort was 4cm short of his personal best of 2.28m, his gold-medal winning mark at the ACT Championships in Canberra last month. Read the full article here . Immediately after Hup Wei achieved his personal best of 2.28m, I received this message from a sports official. "Maybe you can write about his (Hup Wei's) recent result (The) athletics federation...

UPDATE (6.42pm):  The Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) is unaware of an international New Year run in city. MAF president Datuk Karim Ibrahim said: "We had a meeting with KSU (Youth and Sports Ministry's chief secretary), Sports Commissioner and even a representative from police last week and it was decided that all runs, especially international runs, must be sanctioned by the state association and this was agreed by all parties." "No requests were made to us for an international run on New Year's day. We have been tasked to come up with the guidelines and held a meeting today." Karim also said it was wrong for race organisers to use the name of government agencies or any other third party to organise events, especially so when money is collected. --- ORIGINAL ARTICLE The above picture is a screen grab from the Royal Malaysian Police twitter account.  Utusan Malaysia reported:  Beberapa jalan utama di sekitar ibu negara akan ditut...

Here's me trying to be taller than national high jumper Navraj Singh (left) and national 110m hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian. This picture was taken on August 27, when the two SEA Games gold medalists were invited as guests of Astro Arena's Analisis Nadi KL2017. Rayzam, 29, is the national record holder (13.67s). He had, at the Kurpfalz Gala competition in Germany in May, erased Nur Herman Majid's 23-year-old record of 13.73s. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak praised Rayzam for breaking the national record. — Twitter @NajibRazak  His victory at KL2017 was meaningful as the last time a Malaysian came out tops in the race was 10 years ago. And he has since expressed his intention to conquer Asia when Indonesia plays host to the Asian Games next year. I had, after the show, asked Rayzam - captain of the national athletics SEA Games squad - if he had a sponsor. The Sabahan replied: "No". "I get a monthly allowance of RM1,500 (from the...

An Australian played an instrumental role in assisting Lee Hup Wei (left) and Navraj Singh Randhwa win the high jump SEA Games silver and gold medals respectively. — Star Online Expect the 'local v foreign  coach' debate to be reignited following the success of our athletics team at the just concluded Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. The athletics squad scored eight gold medals in track and field events. The eight winners (and coaches) are: 1. Hammer thrower Jackie Wong (Gu Yuan - China)  2. Hammer thrower Grace Wong (Gu Yuan - China) 3. High jumper Navraj Singh Randhawa (Alex Stewart - Australia) 4. Sprinter Khairul Hafiz Jantan (Mohd Poad Mohd Kassim - MALAYSIA) 5. Hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian (Jan Klaus Erasmus May - Germany) 6. Walker Elena Goh (Teoh Boon Lim - MALAYSIA) 7. Discus thrower Irfan Shamsuddin (Fero Petrovic - Slovakia) 8. Triple jumper Mohd Hakimi Ismail (Viktor Sotnikov - Russia)  From the list above, only two of the winning coaches are locals...

UPDATE (4.01pm): Kuala Lumpur SEA Games chef de mission Marina Chin, a former runner herself, was quoted by Berita Harian as saying: "Kalau ada seseorang itu tidak kiralah sebagus mana pun anda, sama ada anda ada potensi pingat emas sekali pun jika anda tidak ada disiplin dan tidak boleh mengikuti peraturan yang ditetapkan persatuan, maka persatuan bolehlah memutuskan untuk melakukan sesuatu." -----   SPRINTER S. Komalam Shally (pic) breaks her silence following her dismissal from the national women's 4x100m team just days before the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. The emotional 29-year-old reveals all: "I was asked to attend a meeting at the fifth floor of the National Sports Council building. I was in the meeting room and in there were team manager Datuk Salim Parlan and several coaches. I was then told that due to my disciplinary issue, I have been dropped from the SEA Games relay team. I was shocked. I kept quiet for awhile, didn't know what to say...

A member of the record-breaking women's 4x100m team has been dropped. (Picture from NST Online) Sprinter S. Komalam Shally (second from left) was dropped from the record-breaking women's 4x100m relay team just days before the start of the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games. Komalam was dropped last Friday apparently over her "bad behaviour". "She was accused of belittling the younger sprinters but Komalam claims she was merely trying to motivate them," said an insider. The matter was brought to the Olympic Council of Malaysia's board yesterday and it was decided that an inquiry be conducted over her dismissal. A committee, overseeing the inquiry, will meet Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) officials and coaches today before possibly meeting the athletes tomorrow. Many are baffled to why the drastic decision was made just days before the Games. If true Komalam had "disciplinary issues", the matter should have been handled earlier or at le...

As published in today's Mailsport By Haresh Deol haresh@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The recent exploits of Khairul Hafiz Jantan prove the country has amazing talents and coaches who are capable of turning our youngsters into champions. Olympic Council of Malaysia assistant secretary-general Datuk Sieh Kok Chi also credited schools for having nurtured talented athletes. Khairul Hafiz Jantan broke the 100m national record of 10.30s after clocking 10.18s to win the gold medal at the Malaysia Games on Wednesday. He also registered a new 200m Games record after he bettered his timing from 21.14s to 21.03s — all within 24 hours. He smashed the 14-year-old Games record of 21.33s held by Nazmizan Muhammad. “We are our worst enemies. We have plenty of talents but instead of saying nice things, we often doubt their capabilities,” said Kok Chi. “The country has plenty of talents, our local coaches are capable of moulding champions. Why can’t we accept that fact and help them?” H...

As published in Malay Mail today By Haresh Deol and May Robertson mmnews@mmail.com.my KUALA LUMPUR — Athletics is in danger of being airbrushed from the 2017 SEA Games if Malaysia stands firm in dropping five traditional events. Thailand Athletics Association chief operating officer Major General Surapong Ariyamongkol told Malay Mail the Asian Athletics Association would not give its approval if marathon, 10,000m, 3,000 steeplechase, decathlon and heptathlon were axed from the bi-annual Games.  Ariyamongkol said this matter was raised during the two-day 84th Asian AA meeting in Doha on Feb 17 and 18.  “Representatives from several Southeast Asian nations spoke to (Asian AA secretary) Maurice Nicholas about the matter and he was unhappy the events were not considered.  “He told us the Asian AA will not approve the SEA Games athletics calendar if the organisers went ahead with the reduced list of events. “The organisers cannot simply drop t...

As published in Sunday Mail today Being Frank By Frankie D’Cruz MALAYSIA’S newest sporting hero, sprinter Badrul Hisyam Abdul Manap, 18, should be a household name. Sadly, he isn’t so. Certain media don’t even get the spelling of his name right. That’s disappointing. Badrul who clocked 10.29s to break Watson Nyambek’s 17-year national 100m record by one-tenth of a second last Monday is one of the best stories this year. Sadly, his story has not gripped the nation. That’s depressing. The schoolboy’s spectacular achievement is one of the defining moments of Malaysian athletics, yet it has been virtually ignored by the authorities including the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) that has had a series of poor stories in recent years. The education and youth and sports ministries also failed to make Badrul, a young inspiring Malaysian, top news. Here’s the thing: at a time when the authorities are struggling to encourage the young to excel in sports...

As published in Malay Mail today. By G. Prakash prakash@mmail.com.my PETALING JAYA — The shooting incident involving former national hurdler Datuk Noorul Ariffin Abdul Majid could be linked to his recent appointment as Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF) vice-president. Insiders claim Noorul has been at odds with several officials since 2012 after he secured a position in the Johor Amateur Athletics Association, which eventually gave him a ticket to contest in the MAF elections last month. Noorul survived a drive-by shooting in front of his house in Bandar Rahman Putra, Sungai Buloh, on Wednesday after two men on a red motorcycle fired several shots at him. He was shot twice in his right leg during the 10pm incident. Sungai Buloh police chief Supt Junaidi Bujang confirmed the incident, adding police found four 9mm bullet shells across the road in front of the victim’s house. He said police are investigating all angles to trace the assailants. A source revealed MAF pre...

HARESH SAYS, as published in Mailsport today. NAREN was excellent in athletics. Having recorded his achievements a decade ago, I believed he would have easily excelled at the national and international levels. Sadly, the Gombak lad threw away his spikes the minute he left school. “Cannot-lah bro, someone must work to pay the bills,” he said, when we bumped into each other recently. “There is no support system. There are many road races and marathons, but not short distance races. It’s difficult. So I decided to work and give up sprinting for good.” Naren is not alone. While the attention seems to be on the FA of Malaysia’s 50th congress this Sunday and the national shuttlers’ participation in the on-going Thomas Cup in New Delhi, athletics have taken a back seat. It does not help that the sport is still dominated by records set decades ago. Olympian Tan Sri M. Jegathesan’s 200m time of 20.9 seconds, set at the 1968 Mexico Olympic Games sem...

It was not the entrance national striker Safee Sali ( pic ) had in mind. Just as he replaced Azamuddin Akil in the 70th minute, Bahrain’s Ismaeel Abdul-Latif scored the solitary goal (71st minute) of the match in the Asian Cup qualifying match last Friday. “Suwey betul la (what bad luck),” was Safee’s immediate reaction. “I’m not happy at all. I entered the field and our opponents scored. I don’t want to see such a thing happening again.” Meanwhile, the late A. Subramaniam ( pic below ), who passed away on Saturday night, was a firm believer in developing young talents. To him, the base needs to be strengthened before one can achieve better results at the higher level. During his short stint as Federal Territory Amateur Athletics Association (FTAAA) president, he introduced plans to promote the sport at grassroot level. "He was always about development, development, development. He was eager to see more youngsters getting into athletics," recalled FTAAA secretar...