KUALA LUMPUR: Pole vaulter Nor Sarah Adi was today shocked to find out that her coach Manshahar Abdul Jalil had actually retired from his role as national head coach last month.
Sarah said Manshahar had not uttered a word about his retirement to her.
She disclosed that he has continued to train her and men’s pole vaulter Naufal Shahrul Afzam. They had their last training session together at Bukit Jalil on Saturday.
Manshahar had served as national head coach from July 2019 until last month. Malaysian Athletics Federation and National Sports Council are currently identifying suitable candidates to fill the position.
“He has been coaching me since April last year and I last had a session with him on Saturday. I have not been able to train for the last three days due to flu.
“I believe Manshahar is still coaching Naufal and I because there are no other pole vault coaches at the moment.
“Or he could be doing it because he loves coaching and wants to continue helping me improve on my personal best. I really appreciate his contributions.
“I was drafted into the national squad last year and after a month of training under Manshahar I surprised everyone by a achieving a personal best (4.0m) to win gold at the Hanoi Sea Games.”
This year, Sarah will be defending her gold at the Phnom Penh Sea Games (May 5-17) and will also be competing at the Hangzhou Asian Games (Sep 23-Oct 8).
The 22-year-old has already qualified for both events after clearing 4m to clinch silver at the International Pole Vault Meet in Busan (Aug).
Sarah is hoping Manshahar can continue to guide her.
“I have two main competitions this year and I need Manshahar’s guidance to help me defend my title at the Sea Games and also do well in what will be my first Asian Games appearance,” said Sarah.
The Malaysian Track and Field Championships in Bukit Jalil on Feb 11-12 will be Sarah’s first competition this year.
“I want to start the year with a personal best to boost my confidence for the SEA Games and Asian Games,” said Sarah, who is pursuing a degree in Communication at University Putra Malaysia (UPM).
By Aftar Singh – January 25, 2023 @ 4:24pm