Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian
KOTA KINABALU: Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian believes he is on track to returning to his best form after a long layoff due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The top national hurdler marked his return to international meet – his first in the past 18 months – with a third place finish in the just concluded Qosanov Memorial Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Rayzam clocked 14.18s to finish third in the men’s 110m hurdles. David Yefremov (13.66s) and Yevgenly Prokudin (13.84s) secured a one-two finish for the host country.
Despite failing to dip below 14 seconds, Rayzam was unpertubed as he believed he has achieved what he set out to do in Kazakhstan.
“Personally I’m happy and glad of taking part in the race, especially after 18 months of not having any (international) competition.
“I recorded 14.18s and it is good enough for me. I’m here to build my level of confidence and for that I’m happy and satisfied with my performance,” said Rayzam in a video message on Sunday.
Having said that, the 33-year-old hopes to be given the chance to compete in more competitions as he preparas for the SEA Games in Vietnam.
“I hope to be able to race in three to four competitions after this to further build and boost my confidence for the SEA Games.
“The race was a good start and I’m satisfied with how things has turned out (in Kazakhstan),” added Rayzam, who has a personal best of 13.67s, which is also the current national record.
For the record, two-time SEA Games gold medallist Rayzam was one of the two Sabahans in the eight-member national squad that travelled to Almaty.
However, national men’s long jump record holder Ander Anura Anuar was forced to withdraw from his event due to hamstring problem.
The national squad is set to return home on June 22.