KUALA LUMPUR: Malacca's Khairul Hafiz Jantan only managed a bronze with a time of 21.27s as Jonathan Nyepa of the Armed Forces beat him for the first time in the 200m with 21.10s in the Malaysian Open Athletics championships at the National Stadium today.
Third was Abdul Wafiy Roslan who clocked 21.24s.
Khairul rewrote Tan Sri Dr M.Jegathesan's national record at the Malaysian Open last year with 20.90s.
In the women's 200m, Zaidatul Husna Zulkifli sealed a double gold medal after winning the women's 200m final to add to the 100m sprint medal she picked up on the opening day on Friday.
Zaidatul, representing Armed Forces, ran a personal best of 23.74s to edge teammate Komalam Shally (24.39s) and Perak's Shereen Samson Vallabouy (24.53s).
Jonathan said: "I did not expect to run such a fast race and beat Khairul as well. This is a pleasant surprise as I was not leading until the last 50 metres when I found my second wind and claimed the gold."
As for Zadatul, she has been trying since 2015 for this moment.
"Yes, a first for me to win the 200m and 100m gold in the Open after trying for the last three years. It"s a real proud day for me and I will push myself further to do much better," said Zadatul.
In the men's high jump, Nauraj Singh won gold with 2.23m while second was Lee Hup Wei on 2.20m.
Nauraj holds the national record of 2.3m.
