The 25-year-old athlete who is only centimetres away from the Olympic qualifying mark of 16.85 metres, is dmetremined to earn a ticket on merit before the deadline on July 11. At the 2015 SEA Games in Singapore, he made a leap of 16.76m to win the gold medal and wiped out the previous SEA Games record of 16.51m set by Thai athlete Theerayut Pilakong in Vientiane, Laos, in 2009. “I will participate in championships in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan during the fasting month, to qualify for the Olympics. Based on my achievements in several tournaments prior to this as well as training, my performance has improved, and I’m doing well. “It gives me confidence to do my best to qualify. I will also participate in several local tournaments here before heading out, to get into the rhythm,” he told reporters after the 32nd Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Sports Awards here, today.

Among the championships the protégée of Russian coach, Victor Sotnikov would be attending are, International Competition T.Kolpakova in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan on June 18, and the XXVI Kosanov Memorial Tournament in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on June 25. Currently, high jumper Nauraj Singh, 24, is the only track and field athlete to have qualified for Rio, after setting a new national record with a 2.29m clearance to win the gold medal at the Singapore Open Athletics Championships, which is also the qualifying standard for the event. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Noraseela Khalid and Lee Hup Wei each received a wild card entry for the 400m and high jump events respectively.     The last time the country’s athletes qualified for the Olympics on merit was in 2008, through Roslinda Samsu (pole vault), Yuan Yufang (20km walk) and Lee (high jump). Earlier, Hakimi and national archer Saritha Cham Nong were crowned UPM Sportsman and Sportswoman at the ceremony, which recognised more than 200 athletes and officials who contributed to the success of sports from the university-to international-level. Hakimi and Saritha each took home RM1,000 cash, a jacket, a trophy, a watch and a certificate presented by Student Affairs and Alumni deputy vice chancellor Prof Datuk Dr Mohammad Shatar Sabran. Meanwhile, Saritha is hoping to bring home a medal from the World University Games in Mongolia, to be held from June 1 to 5, 2016. ― Bernama