29 March 2024, Friday | 10:41pm

National athletics coach cries foul, says hurdler Rayzam Shah robbed of SEA Games gold

2019-12-10

NEW CLARK CITY (Philippines), Dec 10 — National athletics chief coach, Mohd Manshahar Abd Jalil claims national 110 metres hurdles champion Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian was robbed of the gold medal by the 30th SEA Games athletics’ technical division at the New Clark City Athletics Stadium, Philippines, last night.

He claimed that there was clearly injustice by the competition’s technical side as it decided only based on the right corner view although the International Amateur Athlete Federation (IAAF) specified that a photo finish result must be evaluated from the right and left corners to determine the true winner, while the nation’s representatives were not allowed to view the recording of the race.

Rayzam Shah and the host’s naturalised athlete Clinton Kingsley Bautista recorded the same time of  13.97 seconds in the event, but the competition’s technical division gave the win to Clinton based on the photo finish, to simultaneously see the Sabah-born athlete failing to retain the gold medal he won at the 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.

Laotian representative, Anousone Xaysa won the bronze medal in a time of 13.99 seconds.

“Actually, the process to deny the Philippine’s athlete the gold medal had been made in accordance with the stipulated procedure to show that we have the right to win the gold medal.

“All the protests have been made within the stipulated time. However, the process did not take place as it should have under the competition regulation. So, it clearly showed that something which should not have happened, had happened and resulting in us being deprived of a gold medal,” said Mohd Manshahar.

In the meantime, national athletics squad manager, Sallehudin Satar revealed that his side would extend the matter to the SEA Games Federation (SEAGF) due to the existence of injustice against Rayzam Shah over the issue of photo finish.

“I expect the case to be taken to a higher level, and as a reference at the Asean level,” said Sallehudin, who is the Johor Athletics Association deputy president. — Bernama

Source: MALAYMAIL 

 

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