It was a promising Day 3 for Malaysia with national track athletes and shuttlers delivering encouraging performances at the Deaflympic Games here today.
Malaysia’s athletics campaign received an early boost as Southeast Asia’s “Deaf Sprint King” Muhammad Zamir Azman and teammate Hazrul Shah Hamri both made the cut into the men’s 100m semifinals at the Komazawa Metropolitan Stadium.
Both athletes, who are making their Deaflympics debut, missed out on finishing in the top two of their respective heats but progressed as part of the eight fastest sprinters overall.
Both Zamir clocked 11.58s, while Hazrul posted 11.53s, notably off their personal bests of 11.06s. It was however sufficient to keep their medal ambitions alive.
“I really hope to dip below 11 seconds in the semifinals. That will boost my chances of reaching the final,” Zamir said, focusing firmly on tomorrow’s challenge. Hazrul, sharing the same heat progression, will also look to sharpen his start and rhythm as both Malaysian sprinters prepare for a highly competitive semifinal lineup.
The Malaysian badminton camp also enjoyed a productive day at the Keio Arena, with the country’s top mixed doubles pair and fourth seed Edmund Teo/Boon Wei Ying, winning their second Group C match in emphatic fashion.
The pair needed just 32 minutes to overpower South Korea’s Jeong Jincheol /Park Soyi, winning 21-14, 21-19 with a composed and tactical display.
They will complete their group fixtures tomorrow against Turkiye’s Muhammed Sert/Elif Sahra Demirel, aiming to top the group and secure a favourable path into the knockout rounds.
Wei Ying said: “Our strategies are always discussed carefully before matches. Our dream is to reach the final—and it feels within reach if we stay focused,” she said.
In Group D, second national mixed doubles pair R. Aravindakumar/Foo Zu Tung opened up their campaign on a positive note after overcoming Turkiye’s Dogukan Yilmaz/Nalan Kaygin 21-8, 21-12, only to fall at the hands of Chinese-Taipei’s Chen Chung-I/Shen Yan-Ru, who took the match in straight games.
For Edmund Teo, it was a satisfying day after yesterday’s loss, making a spirited comeback in the men’s singles after defeating Denmark’s William Haurholm-Rasmussen 9–21, 21–15, 21–15 in the second group tie. It was a morale-boosting win for Edmund who remains in contention for progression from his group.
In Group G, R. Aravindakumar however faced a tougher outing, losing to Chinese Taipei’s Chen I-Chung, who claimed a 21-13, 21-15 victory.
