KUALA LUMPUR: Two national hammer throwers produced excellent performances by winning the gold medal and setting new national records at Jeollanamdo Track and Field Championships in South Korea on Friday.
Grace Wong Xiu Wei broke the six-year-old record held by Tan Song Hwa in the women’s hammer throw event after posting a 60.99 metre throw.
Tan became the national record holder in the event through a 58.71m-throw made at a sports tournament in Hungary in 2011.
Two South Korean athletes, Park Seo Jin and Kim Hwi Su settled for silver and bronze medals after recording throws of 58.15m and 51.06m respectively.
Meanwhile, national elite athlete Jacky Wong broke his own national record after notching up a 64.55m-throw in the men’s hammer throw event.
His previous record was 64.50m, created during the Pahang Open Athletics Championship 2016.
South Koreans Jang Dong Won and Yoon Seung-Chan finished second and third in the event with throws of 63.22m and 57.70m.
Malaysian Athletics Federation president Datuk Karim Ibrahim when contacted by Bernama expressed pride over the achievement of the two athletes and deemed it the best tonic for the national athletics squad in facing Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from Aug 19 to 31.
“Their success proves that our plans to train and take part in competitions abroad can yield positive results, and we hope that this excellence will be carried over into the next tournament,” he said.
About 500 athletes nationwide have confirmed their participation in the National Indoor Athletics Championships at the Royal Malaysian Navy Stadium in Lumut for two days beginning April 15, which will be used as a platform to select national athletes for the 2017 SEA Games.
Karim said 92 of the best athletes in the tournament will be selected to represent the country at the biennial games. — Bernama