National shot put thrower Nani Sahirah Maryata stole the limelight when she once again broke her own women’s national shot put record at the Perlis Open Athletics Championships today.

During the action at the Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium, the 22-year-old’s energetic throw of 15.39 metres (m) surpassed the old record of 15.22m set last year at the Perak Open Athletics Championships.

The result saw Nani Sahirah sweep the gold medal without much difficulty while the silver and bronze medals went to Nurrul Ainin Syauqina M. Nor Azhar (13m) and Norliyana Kamardudin (11.20m) respectively.

Commenting on her performance, the Kuantan, Pahang-born athlete said the win clearly made up for her disappointment in failing to renew the national record at the 2024 Higher Education Institution Games (SUKIPT) in September.

“I was aiming to break the record at SUKIPT, but though my throw had surpassed the record it was ruled out as a no throw. So, today’s win certainly made up for that disappointment. The result will also serv
e as a boost for my participation in the SEA Games hosted by Thailand next year.

“Actually based on the distance registered today, my throw had equalled the silver medal winning distance at the Cambodian SEA Games, but for Thailand, I am naturally aiming to win gold, so there are many more things that need to be improved, and I have a long way to go,” he told Bernama today.

Earlier, another athlete, Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifl, had also smashed the 31-year-old national record in the women’s 100 metres (m) event held by G. Shanti since 1993.

Zaidatul Husniah, 31, who is affectionately known as ‘Adik’, recorded a time of 11.49 seconds (s) to erase Shanti’s record of 11.50s set in Kuala Lumpur on May 7, 1993, thus snatching the gold medal.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency