Meet Brunei's athletics trio

AFTER a strict selection process the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports decided to send a three-man athletics team to the 12th edition of the Malaysia Games (Sukma) to be held in Terengganu, Malaysia from May 31-June 9 2008.

The trio booked their tickets to Terengganu after recording better results than the third place winners (in their events) in the Kedah Sukma in 2006.

They are the chosen ones, the best of the best from Brunei's track and field fraternity.

Muhammad Hadi Ezlan Sebad, 22, will represent the country in two events javelin and hammer throw. This is his third time competing in Sukma and Muhammad Hadi hopes for an improved performance in Kuala Terengganu.

"I train five times a week and I'm trying very hard to boost my confidence (with better throws during practice)," Muhammad Hadi said.

If Muhammad Hadi is a Sukma veteran, 18-year-old Muhammad Haziq Hj Awang Harun is rookie. Appearing in his first Malaysia Games, Muhammad Haziq will compete in the 100 metres and the triple jump event.

"I'm confident I can do well in Terengganu as my performance is improving every day," said Muhammad Haziq when interviewed yesterday.

"I know it's not going to be easy to win as Sukma is a very competitive meet, but I will give it my best," he added.

"I thought I had achieved a personal best in the Sabah Open clocking 10.96 seconds for the 100m, but I managed to improve it to 10.72s in last year's Borneo Games in Kuching, Sarawak, to win the 100m bronze medal," Muhammad Haziq said.

Abdul Haqim Haji Yahya, meanwhile, will represent the country in long jump and high jump events. And like his teammate Muhammad Haziq, this is the 19-year-old athlete's first appearance at Sukma too.

"I want to show the Malaysians that Bruneians are also capable of winning medals (at Sukma)," he said.

"If I can reach my personal best, which is two metres in the long jump, I'm sure I can bag a medal," he added.

Two of his athletes might be first-time Sukma participants, but athletics team coach Maqnun Wahab is confident that they have a good chance of taking medals in Terengganu.

"Participating at Sukma will give them the much-needed exposure," said Maqnun.

"Hopefully they will perform to their full potential and bring back medals," he added.

"My athletes are well trained and very experienced (despite their tender age)," Maqnun told The Brunei Times yesterday.

"Eventhough Muhammad Haziq and Abdul Haqim are new to Sukma, they have a lot of experience competing elsewhere like in Australia, Macau and Thailand," he said.

"The three will carry Brunei's hopes to bring back medals from Terengganu," he added.

But they will face a tough competition from other States in Malaysia especiallyathletics powerhouse Selangor.

Seven-time overall champions Selangor believe they are good enough to make it eight in a row in Terengganu.

In fact Selangor Sports Council (SSC) director Mohd Zubir Idrus said with the increase in the number of sports being contested this year, Selangor were eyeing a bigger haul of gold medals in Terengganu.

"As in the past, we expect Sarawak to give us a tough fight. But at the same time we cannot overlook other States like Penang and Perak," Mohd Zubir told the Terengganu Sukma official website recently.

"Sukma has become very competitive among the participating teams. Gone are the days when one or two States were dominant. Thanks to the development programmes initiated by the NSC (Malaysia's National Sports Council), other teams have managed to catch up and make their presence felt," he added.

The Brunei Times