DEAFLYMPICS: MUHAMMAD ZAMIR, HAZRUL SHAH ADVANCE TO 100M SEMIS

From Farah Najihah Zuraimi

TOKYO, Nov 17 (Bernama) — Malaysia’s athletics squad received an early boost at the 2025 Deaflympics when Southeast Asia’s Deaf Sprint King, Muhammad Zamir Azman, together with teammate Hazrul Shah Hamri, advanced to the men’s 100-metres (m) semi-finals at the Komazawa Metropolitan Stadium here today.

Both athletes, making their debut at the prestigious Games, did not finish their respective heats in the top two but still progressed after ranking among the next eight fastest runners for the next round.

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Met after the race, Muhammad Zamir admitted he was slightly ‘distracted’ while waiting for the start ‘light’ signal, causing him to ‘break out’ from the starting blocks later than usual.

“If we follow the one in Jakarta, my record was 11.06s because at the Equator, physically, I perform better. But here it’s cold.

“I expect the challenge will come from athletes from the United States, Japan and Estonia, but I will still do my best to qualify for the final,” he told reporters.

Hazrul Shah described qualifying for the semi-finals as a morale booster and stressed that his focus now is solely on ‘stealing’ a place in the final.

“Whatever advice the coach gives, I will surely follow, and for myself, I hope to run below 11s for tomorrow’s semi-final,” he said.

Earlier, Muhammad Zamir clocked 11.58 seconds (s) in Heat 3, far from his personal best of 11.06s recorded at the Jakarta Deaf SEA Games last August.

Hazrul Shah registered 11.53s in Heat 4, also below his best performance of 11.09s.

Meanwhile, Muhammad Zamir’s twin brother, Muhammad Zumar, exited in the early round after posting 11.64s, while national women’s representative Nur Andrina Zainudin also failed to advance after recording 13.49s.

Both athletes will continue their challenge in the 200m event.

— BERNAMA