KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 26 — Olympians Nauraj Singh Randawa and Lee Hup Wei clinched the SEA Games men’s high jump gold and silver medals at the National Stadium here today.
Nauraj won his third consecutive SEA Games gold while three-time champion Hup Wei had to settle for the silver after countback, when both failed to clear the 2.28m mark.
The Malaysians only managed to equal the 2.24m SEA Games record, held by former national jumper Loo Kum Zee since the 1995 Chiang Mai edition, while Nguyen Thanh Nhan of Vietnam claimed bronze after clearing 2.18m.
The 25-year-old Nauraj, who holds national record of 2.30m, was unhappy with his jump but glad he could contribute another gold for the country.
“I have to give credit to Hup Wei, he really pushed me today to jump 2.24m…We skipped 2.26m because our coach asked us to go for 2.28m, and I believe he only asked us to do things he believed we were capable of.
“It’s a shame that I missed the 2.28m mark. Hopefully when the time comes, we are able to jump higher, maybe next year,” he told reporters after the event.
Meanwhile, Hup Wei who made a comeback to SEA Games after missing the 2013 and 2015 editions due injury, said he hoped that the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) and National Sports Council (NSC) would help him to train under coach Alex Stewart together with Nauraj.
“I used my own money to train under him but it has been worth it because I have seen drastic improvement in my performance the last few months. I wish to continue training under him until the Commonwealth Games next year.
“I hope the MAF and NSC will help me on this,” the three-time SEA Games gold medallist ,from 2007-2011, said.
In the women’s discus throw, Choo Kang Ni broke the national record to bag the silver with a 47.91m throw, erasing the previous record of 47.79m set by Yap Jeng Tzan in 2014.
Defending champion and SEA Games record holder Subenrat Insaeng of Thailand retained the gold with 55.23m while Vietnam’s Nguyen Thi Tong Thuong bagged bronze with 45.10m.
Jeng Tzan, who postponed her knee surgery to compete in SEA Games, settled for fourth place with 44.81m. — Bernama
