KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's fastest man, Azeem Fahmi, is only one step away from qualifying for next month's Paris Olympics.
He is currently 57th on the Road to the Olympics rankings for men's 100m; only the top 56 will make the cut.
To improve his ranking, Azeem, who holds the national record of 10.09s, needs to win the 100m in the Kazakhstan Open in Almaty this weekend.
The Kazakhstan Open is the Asian Games bronze medallist's last race in his attempt to qualify for the Paris Games.
In the Malaysian Open in Kuantan last weekend, Azeem won the 100m in 10.43. Though he got the gold, he was not satisfied with his time, which could be due to jet lag from travelling back from the United States,
But Azeem, 20, now feels that he has had enough rest and more energy for the Kazakhstan Open.
If Azeem clocks 10.20 or better in Almaty, he will also get bonus points to improve his chances of getting ranked in the top 56.
"I don't want to put any pressure on myself and I'm not trying to do anything different.
"My goal is to execute my run well. I'm not setting any target or setting any specific time like at the Malaysian Open," he said.
Azeem left for Almaty today with his former coach Amir Izwan. His current coach Ken Harnden is in the United States.
