Sprinter Izzatul looks unstoppable at Sukma

KUALA LUMPUR: At just 18 years old, Terengganu's Izzatul Musfirah Ahmad Kamal Azira is already regarded as the second fastest woman sprinter in the nation, trailing only Nur Aishah Rofina Aling from Sabah. The Form Six student from SMK Sultan Sulaiman in Kuala Terengganu boasts impressive personal bests, with 11.71 seconds for the 100m and 24.24 seconds for the 200m.

Expected to dominate both the 100m and 200m events during the upcoming Malaysia Games (Sukma), which commence on Sunday at the Universiti Putra Malaysia Stadium in Serdang, Izzatul has shown remarkable progression since joining Terengganu coach Khairul Azman Adenan's training program in 2022. In 2022, she was clocking a personal best of 14.43 seconds in the 100m; now, she has shaved off 2.72 seconds.

Izzatul's strong performance was evident at the Malaysia Open in June, where she narrowly missed overtaking Nur Aishah in the 100m final, finishing with 11.71 seconds compared to Nur Aishah's 11.70 seconds. This year, she aims to secure four gold medals in both sprint events and the 4x100m and 4x400m relay. Although Nur Izzati Eliana Suhaidi of Perak and Nabilah Natasha Azisyan of Johor will provide a challenging competition, it is unlikely they can prevent Izzatul from achieving her goals.