A confident Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian ended a 10-year wait to regain his 110m hurdles gold with a time of 13.83s at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on Saturday (Aug 26).
And to celebrate the gold effort he went bald soon after the race to keep his promise he made to his wife Eriyana Idris and daughter Rayyana. And strike gold he did in style.
It was double joy for the Sabahan when he beat his arch rival Jamras Rittidet of Thailand to the gold after finishing second best in 2011 (Indonesia), 2013 (Myanmar) and 2015 (Singapore). Rayzam last won the gold in 2007.
Jamras was timed at 14.10s for his silver; Clinton Kingsley of the Philippines won the bronze in 14.15s.
“I was very confident of winning the gold this time because Jamras had not dipped below 14.06s this year,” said a beaming Rayzam, who smashed Nur Herman Majid’s long standing record of 13.73s set at the 1994 Asian Games in Hiroshima.
Rayzam’s new national record of 13.67s was set in Germany in May.
“It’s a fantastic feeling to win the gold after a 10-year wait.
I had been waiting for this moment and it is sheer joy because it happened in front of my home supporters. This win is for the country,” added Rayzam, who is now focused on next year’s Asian Games.
Malaysia also celebrated a silver medal in the women’s 100m hurdles through Raja Nursheena who clocked 13.92s – taking full advantage Thailand’s Suchada Meesri’s fall midway in the race.
The Thai’s misfortune was Nursheena’s gain as the Malaysian from Kajang, who is competing in her fourth SEA Games, said: “It does not matter how I won….but I won.
“I was fully focused on winning a medal of any colour. The silver is more than consolation for my efforts as it has not been easy on me and my family since my father died in April 2012.
“I dedicate this medal to my family and my 19-year-old brother Raja Badrul Hafiqul who suffers from Down Syndrome,” said Nursheena who has a personal best of 13.82s.
“My mother and other family members have been making a lot of sacrifices for me to pursue my athletics career after my father’s death,” said Nursheena.
Malaysia also had a silver medal winner in the women’s discus through Choo Kang Ni who hurled the discus to a distance of 47.91m which clinched her second place in a field of seven.
The gold medal went to Thailand’s Subenrat Insaeng whose last hurl of 55.23m saw her take the gold but it was not good enough to beat her own Games record of 59.56m set in Singapore in 2015.
Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Hong won the bronze with a distance of 45.10.
Results
Men: 110m Hurdles: 1 Rayzam Shah Sofian (Mas) 13.83s, 2 Jamras Rittidet (Tha) 14.10s, 3 Clinton Kingsley (Phi) 14.15s.
Women:
100m Hurdles: 1 Tran Thi Hoa Yen (Vie) 13.40s, 2 Raja Nursheena (Mas) 13.92s, 3 Nur Izlyn Zaini (Sgp) 14.14s.
Discus: 1 Subenrat Insaeng (Tha) 55.23m, 2 Choo Kang Ni (Mas) 47.91m, 3 Nguyen Thi Hong (Vie) 45.10m.
