Philippine Experience More Valuable Than Silver

2019 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships

“I stepped onto the blocks in Lane 3 for the Men’s 200m Final. On my right, in Lane 4, was Eric Cray, the 2018 Asian 400m Hurdles champion and two-time 200m gold medallist at the 2015 and 2017 Southeast Asian Games. You can imagine how nervous I felt,” said Mohammad Irfan Qabeel Md Daud.

“But I knew I could not let my nerves get the better of me. I shifted my focus instead to the lane ahead of me. All I saw was the line I was to take after the gun went.

“Bang. All that went through my mind was the race I had planned to run – and I ran. I crossed the line second to Eric, my buddy Marcell Tan Yann Guang, who ran in Lane 7, finished just 0.29s behind in third. I won the 200m silver medal with my time of 22.59s, however I took home something more valuable from the competition: The experience of racing against athletes like Eric of high-calibre. I am more motivated to train harder so that I can one day sing the Singapore national anthem while standing on the topmost step of the podium.”

Nur Syarin Zahari, a post-secondary Year 2 sprinter like Qabeel, was Singapore Sports School’s most bemedalled athlete, winning 2 silver medals in the Boys Under 20 100m and 200m events. Sports School’s post-secondary student-athletes won 4 silver and 2 bronze medals for Singapore at the 2019 Ayala Philippine Athletics Championships, formerly known as the Philippine National Open Athletic Championship, in Ilagan City from 6 to 8 March 2019.

RESULTS

Men’s 200m

2nd – Mohammad Irfan Qabeel Md Daud

3rd – Marcell Tan Yann Guang

Boys Under 20 100m

2nd – Nur Syarin Zahari

Boys Under 20 200m

2nd – Nur Syarin Zahari

Boys Under 20 Long Jump

2nd – Muhammad Hazim Ismail

Girls Under 20 100m Hurdles

3rd – Rachel Chin Hui Ya