Hakimi faces stiff climb to defend triple jump title

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Muhamad Hakimi Ismail of Perak competes in the triple jump during the Malaysian Open Athletics Championship at National Stadium in Bukit Jalil, in this July 17 file photo. — Bernama photo

KUALA LUMPUR: SEA Games triple-jump record holder Muhammad Hakimi Ismail has admitted that he faces a stiff challenge to defend his gold medal in the biennial games.

Muhammad Hakimi has struggled to match his 16.76m record-breaking feat at the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, after suffering an injury to his left heel at the Malaysian Open Athletics Championship, last year.

Based on current performance, he is ranked second in the Southeast Asian region, behind Mark Harry Diones of the Philippines.

His best jump for this year was 16.45m, recorded in Almaty, Kazakhstan in June, while Mark broke the Philippine national record with a jump of 16.70m in early April.

“It’s a big challenge for me to retain the gold, as its a 50-50 chance between Mark and I. The difference is not much, whoever does best on the day of competition will win the gold. I think I still have time to prepare well and improve my performance,” he said.

Muhammad Hakimi became a national hero when he ended an 18-year wait for the gold medal in the SEA Games triple-jump event at the Singapore National Stadium two years ago.

Before that, the last time Malaysia won the event was at the 1997 edition in Indonesia through Mohd Zaki Sadri, with a 16.05m-jump. — Bernama