Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin
KUALA LUMPUR: Discus thrower Muhammad Irfan Shamsuddin,22, is in a class of his own after rewriting the national record in the men’s discus throw 13 times since June 2013.
He first smashed the national record with a throw of 49.81m at the Junior and Senior Closed Athletics Championships 2013 held at the mini stadium of the National Sports Council (NSC).
The old record of 49.33m was set by Ngu Kit Ming of Sarawak.
In the same year, Muhammad Irfan twice rewrote his own record with a throw of 49.90m at the Brunei Open Athletics Championships and 53.16m at the Myanmar SEA Games.
He went on to rewrite the national discus record nearly every year.
The proudest moment were the 59.29m, 61.56m and 62.55m recorded in one week in several athletics championships in Europe recently.
“I will have a go again as I am confident of doing better. I just want to be consistent and focus on avoiding making mistakes as it can affect the throwing technique.
“This is my 13th record. I do not set any goals as I do not want to put pressure myself,” he told Bernama.
The burly athlete who stands at 187.96m (6 feet 2 inches) was active in rugby and only took up the discus throw in 2011.
A humble Muhammad Irfan said that he has many things to learn, especially to improve the throwing technique to achieve his ambition to feature in the World Championships and the Olympic Games.
Negeri Sembilan-born Muhammad Irfan is among Malaysia’s gold medal hopes at Kuala Lumpur SEA Games from August 19-30.
He has until July 23 to record a throw of 65.00m to qualify for World Championships in London. — Bernama