KUALA LUMPUR: National young sprinter Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee is capable of springing a surprise in his debut appearance at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand next month, according to national athletics head coach Mohd Manshahar Abdul Jalil.
He reckoned that the 2024 Malaysia Games (SUKMA) sprint king could finish on the podium in the blue-riband event at the SEA Games.
“Based on current rankings, Danish Iftikhar is among the top three. Nothing is impossible (in terms of a surprise from him) because athletics is unpredictable.
“There are athletes we expect to win medals but they don’t. It has happened several times at the SEA Games, especially in sprint events,” he said when met at a meeting between the 2025 SEA Games chef de mission, Nurul Huda Abdullah, and national athletes here yesterday.
Last August, Danish Iftikhar clocked a personal best of 10.26 seconds when he won the men’s 100m gold medal at the Malaysia Open in Kangar.
That time not only secured the 18-year-old a slot at the 2025 SEA Games but was also faster than the winning time of 10.37s posted by Thailand’s Soraoat Dabbang at the last edition in Phnom Penh.
Mohd Manshahar expects host nation star Puripol Boonson and Indonesia’s Lalu Muhammad Zohri to be the main contenders in the men’s 100m at the biennial Games this time.
Puripol is the region’s fastest man this year, having recorded 10.15s in Chongqing, China, last May, while Lalu clocked 10.21s at a meet in Miyakonojo, Japan, last month.
The 2025 SEA Games are scheduled to take place from Dec 9 to 20 across three provinces — Bangkok, Chonburi and Songkhla. – BERNAMA
