PUTRAJAYA — National sports legend Datuk Marina Chin has called on the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) to be more thorough and ensure no recurrence of issues involving unrecognised records, following the previous controversy surrounding Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli’s achievement.
The former sprint queen emphasised that such lapses could demoralise athletes who have dedicated significant effort to their sport.
“I also don’t want us to focus solely on one athlete. We have junior athletes, and I hope they will send larger teams so that newcomers can gain experience.
“I hope they continue pushing younger athletes to participate in competitions,” Marina said at the Milo Breakfast Day 2025 event here today, Bernama reported.
On October 12 last year, Zaidatul, fondly known as “Adeq,” broke the national women’s 100m record of 11.50 seconds, set by G. Shanti in 1993, with a time of 11.49 seconds.
However, her achievement was initially unrecognised by World Athletics (WA) due to the absence of proper wind reading documentation.
After months of waiting, MAF confirmed on Thursday that WA had finally recognised the 31-year-old sprinter’s record.
Marina, who is also a board member of the National Sports Institute (ISN), expressed optimism about Zaidatul’s future and her potential to deliver improved performances.
“She seems to have a stable life now after getting married, and I believe she can achieve even greater results in upcoming competitions. If she needs any assistance, ISN is ready to support her,” she said.
Marina added that she hopes Zaidatul will be able to retire on a high note, having achieved all her goals and dreams as an athlete. — January 19, 2025