Malaysian 4x100m Teams Strike Gold at Malaysia Open, Azeem Eyes National Record
SERDANG: Malaysia’s men’s and women’s 4×100 metre relay teams lived up to expectations by capturing gold medals on the final day of the Malaysia Open Athletics Championships at Universiti Putra Malaysia Stadium on Sunday.
The men’s quartet stole the spotlight after producing an impressive performance to finish first with a time of 39.16 seconds, comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.
The winning team featured national sprint star Muhammad Azeem Fahmi alongside Danish Iftikhar Muhammad Roslee, Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam and Mohamad Armin Zahryl Abdul Latif.
Despite having limited preparation time together, the quartet displayed remarkable chemistry throughout the race, executing clean baton exchanges and maintaining strong pace from start to finish.
Malaysia University claimed the silver medal with a time of 40.02 seconds, while Johor settled for bronze after clocking 40.41 seconds.
Speaking after the race, Azeem said he was delighted with the result and believed the team still had plenty of room for improvement.
According to the 21-year-old sprinter, the athletes were able to adapt quickly because they had known each other for years, dating back to their school days.
“For me, 39.16 seconds is a really good time, especially considering this is the first time we have run together as a team.
“We may not have trained together for long, but we understand each other well and that helped us build chemistry very quickly,” he said.
Azeem admitted the national team enjoyed a comfortable advantage over the other teams competing in the event.
Nevertheless, he welcomed the challenge from rival teams and expressed hope that more athletes would emerge to strengthen the country’s sprint programme.
“The gap between us and the other teams was quite significant.
“But I’m happy that they continued to challenge us because healthy competition is important for the development of the sport,” he added.
Although the team narrowly missed the national record of 39.03 seconds, Azeem remains confident that the mark could soon fall if the quartet is given more opportunities to compete together.
He believes there is still room for improvement, particularly in baton exchanges and race coordination, areas that could shave valuable fractions of a second off their time.
“I’m very optimistic that the national record won’t last much longer if we continue racing together.
“There are still things we can improve and I believe we have the ability to achieve something special,” he said.
The women’s 4x100m relay team also enjoyed success after claiming the gold medal with a time of 46.47 seconds.
The quartet comprising Fatin Ilyana Mat Nayan, Izzatul Musfirah Ahmad Kamal Azira, Nurul Wardatul Huwaida Mohd Hamka and Lie Yee Teng controlled the race from the early stages and crossed the finish line comfortably ahead of their rivals.
Johor secured the silver medal with a time of 47.60 seconds, while Sarawak completed the podium after recording 47.67 seconds.
The double gold success is seen as an encouraging sign for Malaysian sprinting, which has shown steady progress in recent years.
Athletics observers believe the performances at the Malaysia Open demonstrate that the country possesses a strong pool of talented sprinters capable of competing at higher levels.
With a blend of experienced athletes and emerging young stars, Malaysia’s relay teams are now regarded as genuine contenders in regional competitions and potential challengers on the Asian stage.
More importantly, the results provide renewed optimism that Malaysian athletics is building a solid foundation for future success, with athletes such as Azeem continuing to inspire confidence that even greater achievements may lie ahead.
