Malaysia bag three golds at Asian Schools meet

By SHAMSHUL FITRI

Nirosh Kumar Nathan celebrating after striking gold in the 200m event of the Asian Schools Track and Field Championships.

KUANTAN: Sprinter Nirosh Kumar Nathan came back from a bad start in the 200m event in the Asian Schools Track and Field Championships to clinch the gold medal at the Darul Makmur Stadium on Friday.
Nirosh stopped the clock in 21.87s to take the gold medal ahead of Thailand’s Natthawut Chuchuai (21.92) and A.A Samith Lakmal (22.00) of Sri Lanka.

Despite the win, his time on Friday was just a bit off his personal best of 21.81 which he achieved en route to winning the gold medal (junior category) at the Thailand Open recently.

“At the start I felt some pain in my groin and I realised that it was not the best start I wanted. I was off the pace with the others entering the bend and I had a lot of catching up to do.

“But upon exiting the bend, I knew I had the speed to catch up and went all out towards the finish line. I have to thank my coach (Tan Kok Lim) for his support ... he really believed in me,” said Nirosh.

He was one of three Malaysian gold medallists in the championships on Friday. The other two gold medals came from the girls’ discus throw and 5,000m walk.

In the girls’ discus throw, Queenie Ting overcame a late challenge from compatriot Grace Wong to take the gold medal.

Queenie only chalked the winning throw in the her last attempt with 38.18m. Grace managed 37.39m for the silver medal while Zhang Jiyou of China settled for bronze with 34.50m.

“There was a bit of pressure as I had only my last throw to get a result. I just focused on it and luckily I was successful,” said Queenie, who has a personal best of 40.99m.

In the girls’ 5,000m walk, Elena Goh let her compatriot Pua Ling En do the pace-setting before zooming past her with three laps to go.

Elena grabbed the gold medal in 26:05.64 while Ling En settled for the silver medal in 26:11.12. Binsy A.M of India took the bronze in 29:14.25.

It was a surpsise win for Elena as she had stopped training last month to focus on her SPM examinations at the end of this year.

“I never thought I would be racing again after the World Youth Championships in Ukraine last month. I was only given notice that I would participate in this meet barely a week ago.

“However, I did my best despite the result being nowhere near my personal best of 25:05 which I achieved in April,” she said.

In the boys’ triple jump, India’s Abdulla Aboobacker took home the gold medal with a 14.88m jump. Malaysia’s Nik Farizal Erman Nik Abdul Hadi settled for the silver with 14.78m while Vinura Lakmal of Sri Lanka grabbed the bronze with 14.64m.  

http://www.thestar.com.my/Sport/Athletics/2013/09/20/Malaysia-bag-three-golds-at-Asian-Schools-meet.aspx

Elena collapses after winning

DOUBLE Malaysia Games winner Elena Goh Ling Yin put so much effort into winning the Malaysian Schools Athletics Championships Under-18 5,000m walk gold that she collapsed as soon as she crossed the finish line in Kuantan yesterday.

But Kuala Lumpur's Elena was back on her feet within minutes of her record-making achievement when she erased her own mark of 25:51.82s set last year by winning in 25:46.13.

The Bukit Jalil Sports School student was in a race with herself given that silver medallist Banended Limau of Sarawak was more than three minutes behind.

The only Malaysia Games gold medallist competing this week, Elena, 17, was happy to have won her fourth Malaysian Schools gold in as many years, completing the Under-18 double after winning the Under-15 2,000m walk event in 2010 and 2011.

But she felt she could have done better after setting a personal best of 25 minutes, two seconds at the Kuala Lumpur schools meet which qualified her for the World Youth Championships in Donetsk, Ukraine in July.

"This is the national meet and it's bigger than the KL Championships so I wanted to clock a faster time," said Elena, who won her two Malaysia Games gold medals last year also at the Darulmakmur Stadium.

"I'm not happy with that but glad that I still won. I started the race wanting to break the record and my teammate (Aina Fadhlin Syahmina Abas) paced me well and after two laps, I broke free from the rest."
Elena's meet record was the seventh broken this week and she will now prepare for the World Youth Championships training under former national walker Yuan Yufang.

"I will focus on the World Youth meet. I don't know yet if I have any other competitions before that," added Elena, who won KL's third gold medal this week.

http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/athletics-elena-collapses-after-winning-1.283573

Elena ratu jalan kaki

Oleh Esme Johari Wahab

Kuantan: Bertubuh kecil tetapi memiliki stamina dan kekuatan mental tiada tandingan! Itulah dapat diperkatakan mengenai atlet jalan kaki Kuala Lumpur, Elena Goh Lin Ying ketika mengungguli acara jalan kaki 5,000 meter perempuan (P18) pada Kejohanan Padang dan Balapan Majlis Sukan Sekolah-Sekolah Malaysia (MSSM) ke-55 di Stadium Darulmakmur, Kuantan, semalam.

Atlet Sekolah Sukan Bukit Jalil (SSBJ) itu bukan saja memberikan emas kedua kontinjen Kuala Lumpur, malah turut memecahkan rekod acara itu diciptanya pada MSSM Perlis tahun lalu. Elena tiba di garisan penamat dengan catatan 25 minit 46.13, meninggalkan pencabar lain satu pusingan dengan pemenang perak, Banended Limau Saing dari Sarawak sekadar mencatat 29:02.45s dan rakan sepasukan Elena, Aina Fadhlin Syahmina Abas, meraih gangsa dengan 29:55.44s. Masa dilakukan Elena lima saat lebih pantas daripada rekod MSSM tahun lalu, 25:51.8s. Ia juga kejayaan keempat berturut-turut Elena dalam MSSM sejak 2010 sekali gus muncul atlet pertama memegang dua rekod acara jalan kaki P15 dan P18.

Ditanya mengenai kepantasan dipamerkannya, atlet berusia 17 tahun itu berkata, latihan sistematik di bawah kendalian dua jurulatih, Teoh Boon Lim serta Yuan Yu Fang dan guru sekolah dikenali ‘cikgu Abbas’ melonjak prestasi semasanya sejak beberapa tahun lalu.

“Mereka bertiga sangat berpengaruh dalam pembentukan diri saya sebagai atlet jalan kaki. Latihan kental harian dan mingguan mencecah 40-60 pusingan dan mungkin mencecah 60 kilometer seminggu menjadikan diri saya sekarang.

“Seronok apabila melihat mereka bertiga tersenyum lebar menanti saya di garis penamat. Rakan kontinjen dan atlet negeri lain turut memberikan motivasi dan semangat membuatkan diri berasa dihargai. Apapun, sasaran saya selepas ini menyertai Kejohanan Remaja Dunia di Russia, bulan depan,” kata atlet kelahiran Baba Nyonya Melaka itu.

Salah seorang jurulatih, Abbas pernah melatih Elena sewaktu menuntut di Sekolah Rendah Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Lai Meng, Jalan Ampang, berkata: “Selama tiga tahun membimbingnya, sejak sekolah rendah, Elena memang serius dan memiliki komitmen tinggi terhadap latihan. Dia memang unggul dengan caranya tersendiri, bercita-cita tinggi. Saya gembira kerana dia juara Sekolah Asean tiga tahun berturut-turut dan juara SUKMA dalam dua kategori 5km dan 10km. Saya harap dia mampu beraksi pada Sukan Olimpik yang menjadi impian utamanya.”

http://www.hmetro.com.my/articles/Elenaratujalankaki/Article/

Elena walks her way to a new record

By NG WEI LOON
weiloon@thestar.com.my
Photos by YAP CHEE HONG 

PROMISING walker Elena Goh (pic) of Keramat led the charge in producing record-breaking feats at the Kuala Lumpur schools (MSSWPKL) athletics championships that concluded at the SMK Seri Permaisuri Mini Stadium in Cheras at the end of April.

(Elena Goh)

The Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) student lived up to her favourite tag in the 5,000m walk event.
In the opening event of the meet, Elena bettered her own national schools (MSSM) mark in the girls’ Under-18.

She improved on her MSSM record of 25:51.82 with an impressive 25:02.93 effort.

Elena, who was the previous MSSWPKL record holder when she clocked 27:40.75 last year, also emerged as the girls’ Under-18 top performer of the recent MSSWPKL championships to earn the sportsgirl award.
The encouraging performance served as a timely boost to her confidence in chalking up another new mark at the MSSM in Kuantan, Pahang from May 18 to 23.

Meanwhile, the budding athletes from the Kuala Lumpur schools erased a total of 18 previous records from the recent MSSWPKL outing.

MSSWPKL athletics technical chairman Hisham Mustaza Ibrahim said the emerging talents have not reached their full potential.

Racing to the finish line: Teams vying for honours in the relay races on the final day of the meet.

 

“It was great to see the youngsters showing their seriousness in delivering outstanding results. They have inspired their peers to keep up and surpass their performances. We are hopeful the emerging athletes will put up stronger displays next year,” he added.

The duo of Teh Wai Kit of Bangsar and Nur Syafiqah Amirah from Keramat completed a fruitful campaign by renewing two records each.

Endurance athlete Wai Kit showed his the long-distance races while thrower Nur Syafiqah stamped her mark in the field events.

En route to picking up the boys’ Under-18 top performer award, Wai Kit set the new meet records in the boys’ open 5,000m (17:53.15) and boys’ Under-18 10,000m walk (55:00.99).

Nur Syafiqah hurled 9.54m and 30.08m to set the new benchmark in the girls’ Under-18 shot putt and discus respectively.

Triple junior Mohd Qayyum Mohd Izlam of Keramat also experienced a change of fortune in this season’s meet.

Last year, the BJSS Form Four student was forced to skip the MSSWPKL meet due to a right ankle injury.
Qayyum secured the top spot with a new record of 13.90m in the boys’ Under-18 triple jump.

Nice passing: Bangsar A’s Melissa Fernandez passing the baton to Loo Wai Ling in the girls’ Under-18 4x400m relay.

 

RECORD BREAKERS

ELENA GOH (Keramat)

Event: 5,000m walk (Girls’ Under-18)

New Rec: 25:02.93

Old Rec: 27:40.75 (2012)

Previous Holder: Elena

SYAZWAN AHMAD (Bangsar)
Event: High jump (Boys’ Under-15)
New Rec: 1.98m
Old Rec: 1.78m (2012)
Previous Holder: Syazwan

NUR SYAFIQAH AMIRAH (Keramat)
Event: Discus (Girls’ Under-18)
New Rec: 30.08m
Old Rec: 27.80m (2010)
Previous Holder: Reosherra Lim (Labuan)

Event: Shot putt (Girls’ Under-18)
New Rec: 9.54m
Old Rec: 9.18m (2012)
Previous Holder: Farn Mei Nie (Bangsar)

ONG XIN YUE (Pudu)
Event: Shot putt (Girls’ Under-12)
New Rec: 8.13m
Old Rec: 7.76m (2011)
Previous Holder: Nurul Izzati Mohd Sidek (Sentul)

NUR AQILAH MOHAMAT (Bangsar)
Event: Javelin (Girls’ Under-18)
New Rec: 33.80m
Old Rec: 29.63m (2011)
Previous Holder: Pauline Ng Jia Hui (Pudu)

SYED MASOOD KALITHU (Pudu)
Event: 400m hurdles (Boys’ Under-18)
New Rec: 57.45
Old Rec: 57.60 (2010)
Previous Holder: Haizul Anuar Baharuddin (Putrajaya)

TEH WAI KIT (Bangsar)
Event: 5,000m (Boys’ Open)
New Rec: 17:53.15
Old Rec: 18:13.92 (2011)
Previous Holder: Thavaneshan (Keramat)  

Event: 10,000m walk (Boys’ Under-18)
New Rec: 55:00.99
Old Rec: 55:57.60 (2011)
Previous Holder: Zubair Siddique Akbar (Pudu)  

NURUL IZZAH MOHAMMAD (Bangsar)
Event: Javelin (Girls’ Under-15)
New Rec: 28.36m
Old Rec: 26.01m (2011)
Previous Holder: Nur Aqilah Mohamat (Pudu)

LAU ZING XING (Pudu)
Event: High jump (Girls’ Under-12)
New Rec: 1.37m
Old Rec: 1.31m (2011)
Previous Holder: Ho Pou Yee (Pudu)

ZAIMAH ATIFAH ZAINUDDIN (Bangsar)
Event: 400m (Girls’ Under-15)
New Rec: 59.04
Old Rec: 62.13 (2012)
Previous Holder: Tham Yi Yin (Bangsar)

BENJAMIN LOH (Bangsar)
Event: Hammer (Boys’ Under-18)
New Rec: 38.44m
Old Rec: 36.27m (2012)
Previous Holder: Tang Zhi Min (Bangsar)  

FARN MEI NIE (Bangsar)
Event: Hammer (Girls’ Under-18)
New Rec: 32.71m
Old Rec: 25.71m (2010)
Previous Holder: Mei Nie

MOHD QAYYUM MOHD IZLAM (Keramat)

Event: Triple jump (Boys’ Under-18)

New Rec: 13.90m

Old Rec: 13.61m (2012)

Previous Holder: Luqman Hakim Ramlan (Putrajaya)

BANGSAR
Event: 4x400m (Girls’ Under-15)
New Rec: 4:07.51
Old Rec: 4.22.19 (2011)
Previous Holders: Bangsar

Event: 4x400m (Boys’ Under-15)
New Rec: 3:37.63
Old Rec: 3:43.65 (2011)
Previous Holders: Bangsar

Event: 4x400m (Girls’ Under-18)
New Rec: 4:08.55
Old Rec: 4:13.49 (2012)
Previous Holders: Bangsar

http://thestar.com.my/metro/story.asp?file=/2013/5/15/central/13093315&sec=central