SERDANG, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- Johor’s Chai Kai Le shattered a 26-year-old Malaysia Games (SUKMA) record to win the men’s javelin gold medal at the Selangor 2026 edition at the Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Sports Centre here today.
The 18-year-old threw 64.44 metres (m) on his second attempt to surpass the previous Games record of 62.33m set by Sarawak’s Kho Mei Kuan at the 2000 edition in Penang.
Penang’s Tan Chun Wei took silver with a 60.43m throw, while Kai Le’s Johor teammate Mohd Noor Iman Norman secured bronze with 59.04m.
Speaking to reporters, Kai Le, who holds the national under-20 record of 65.65m, said breaking the Games record was among his targets after preparing for SUKMA over the past two years.
“Breaking the record was within my expectations because I have been preparing for this SUKMA for the past two years, so I’m definitely satisfied and happy with the result.
“After my second throw, I made a technical mistake which caused some pain in my lower back and left me feeling tired, so I was unable to push further, so my focus was on managing myself and preventing the injuries from getting worse,” he said.
Meanwhile, Penang’s Mohammad Aiman Haikal Sahrudin won the men’s 10,000m race walk gold medal after clocking 47 minutes 28.84 seconds, ahead of Kelantan’s Ahmad Farish Irfan Ahmad Fahmi, who took silver in 47:37.17s.
National junior Khor Jing Hong of the Federal Territories settled for bronze in 47:49.27s, while Mohammad Aiman improved on his silver-medal finish in the same event at the previous SUKMA in Sarawak.
“After this, my target is to break into the national squad and qualify for the 2027 SEA Games. There is no 10,000m event at the SEA Games, so I will focus on the 20,000m, which is also an event I will compete in here later,” said the 18-year-old from Kampung Tanah Liat, Penang.
Mohammad Aiman won silver in the same event at the previous edition in Sarawak.
-- BERNAMA