Kangar: The country’s young national athlete Pengiran Aidil Auf Hajam and national sprint queen Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli dominated the men’s and women’s 200-metre sprint events, respectively, on the second day of the 2025 Malaysian Open Athletics Championships at the Tuanku Syed Putra Stadium here today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Pengiran Aidil, 20, representing Sabah, hit the tape with a time of 21.42 seconds to take first place, defeating Singaporean Praharsh Ryan, who came in second at 21.57 seconds, while Federal Territory Sports Council athlete Reeve Kua Man Hong secured third place with 21.88 seconds.

Meanwhile, Zaidatul Husniah, 32, representing Kedah, continued to prove her excellence after successfully winning the race with a time of 24.57 seconds, ahead of Sabah’s Siti Norjahera Beliamor at 25.54 seconds, and Negeri Sembilan’s Adriana Shahryll Nizam took third place with a time of 26.09 seconds.

When met by reporters after the event, Pengiran Aidil said he had set a target of winning fir
st place in the 200m sprint and expressed gratitude for achieving it today despite feeling a little tired. He noted that even though he couldn’t break his personal best record of 21.21 seconds, set at the Varsity Track and Field Championship Series 1 2025 in Johor last April, today’s performance was still satisfactory.

Zaidatul Husniah, who also won the 100m sprint event yesterday, expressed satisfaction and happiness with her performance in the 200m sprint, despite the time not being particularly impressive. She appreciated the opportunity to compete and give young runners like 16-year-old Siti Norjahera Beliamor a chance to gain experience.

The championships, which run until tomorrow, brought together 658 athletes from 19 domestic teams and 10 foreign countries, including Algeria, China, Japan, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. National athletes are preparing for the SEA Games to be hosted by Thailand in December.