By Ng Wei Loon
Thursday December 4, 2008
AFTER a week-long break, the junior hurdlers under former Olympian Ishtiaq Mobarak are beginning to increase their workload in training over the year-end school holidays as they build up to face new challenges next season.
They will be heading to Cameron Highlands for a 10-day training stint on Dec 11 to go through the paces under more conducive weather.
Ishtiaq said they were aiming to complete 30 units of training over the period.
“They missed out on the outing last year but they are prepared and look forward to undergoing tougher sessions. We will be pushing them hard and they will have adequate time to recover during the Christmas and New Year break.
Asyraf: ‘I realise that I need to pull up my socks and buck up this year.’
“But, they have to follow a training programme to maintain their condition during the short vacation. When the new academic year resumes in January, they will move on to pre-competition training. They are on a very tight schedule because the competition will begin earlier,” he said.
Abdul Muhaimin Asyraf Rosli, 14, and Norhafiza Che Ishak, 16, will be having a feel of the tougher conditioning regime lined up for them for the first time in Cameron Highlands.
Asyraf admitted he has a lot of catching up to do to prepare for next season.
Despite lacking in opportunities to compete in junior competitions over the past two years, Asyraf is attempting to bridge the gap and make an impact at the Malaysia Schools Sports Council (MSSM) meet scheduled at Sarawak in April.
“I was not that focused when I entered Bukit Jalil Sports School (BJSS) last year. But, I realised that I needed to pull up my socks and buck up this year. And I have improved my approach towards training.
“For next year, my goal is to clock between 14.3s and 14.4s in the boys’ Under-15 110m hurdles,” said Asyraf.
On the right track: Ajmal aims to clock 14.1s in the boys’ Under- 18 110m hurdles next year.
At the Thailand Sports School meet this year, Asyraf clocked 15.3s and 27s in the boys’ Under-14 110m hurdles and 200m hurdles, respectively.
Meanwhile, the current MSSM boys’ Under-15 110m hurdles and 200m sprint record holder Muhd Ajmal Mat Hasan had a fruitful outing competing against a strong field of Under-18 athletes at the recent Commonwealth Youth Games in Pune, India.
“Although I finished sixth in the final, it was a good experience racing in the event at a higher hurdle clearance height, which is one level lower than the height for seniors.
“I had a reasonable start but could not maintain my position to match the others and finished the race in 14.45s,” said Ajmal, who has also earned his place in the World Junior Championships in Italy next year.
For next year, the 15-year-old Ajmal is setting his sights on registering 14.1s when he steps up to feature in the boys’ Under-18 110m hurdles to set him on the right track for the Youth Olympics in Singapore in 2010.
Getting tougher: Ishtiaq (left) guiding Norhafiza through a hurdling drill
In addition, two other national back-up squad hurdlers Abdul Azlan Samsuddin and Raja Nursheena Raja Azhar (both 17-years-old) will be joining the group in Cameron Highlands after their SPM examinations.
“Azlan is showing progress beyond his age-group and Raja Nursheena is not too far away from the mark. They will go into early specialisation for their events next year.
“It will not be a realistic target for them to break into the senior ranks for the SEA Games next year. They should be ready for the biennial Games in 2011 with solid and serious training,” said Ishtiaq. --- The Star Metro
No comments:
Post a Comment