Noraseela eyeing third consecutive SEA Games gold in Myanmar

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Noraseela Khalid

KUALA LUMPUR: National women’s 400m hurdler Noraseela Khalid hopes to win her third consecutive SEA Games gold medal and her fourth in the games, at the 2013 Myanmar SEA Games in December.

The 33-year-old hurdler who is under the tutelage of South African coach Hennie Kriel remains confident of defending her gold medal that she had won at the 2011 SEA Games in Indonesia and adding on to the 2009 Laos SEA Games gold, despite not having fully recovered from a heel injury.

She had won her first SEA Games gold medal in the 2003 Vietnam SEA Games.

“I am now concentrating on improving my fitness and striding exercises because I have not been training for a long time,” she told Bernama, yesterday.

Noraseela said she would undergo training at the National Sports Council (NSC) mini stadium in Bukit Jalil before leaving to South Africa, pending an approval from the Malaysian Athletic Union (MAU).

In Laos, Noraseela set a time of 56.99s to win the gold and 57.41s in Indonesia although she has a personal best time 56.02s which is also the National record that she had set in Regensburg, Germany in 2006.

Noraseela who works in the Royal Malaysian Navy has to surpass the SEA Games qualifying mark of 58.09s set by the Olympic Council of Malaysia. — Bernama