LEE Hup Wei’s bad luck with injuries returned to haunt him after the high jumper was ruled out of the Glasgow Commonwealth Games, the second consecutive major multi-sport event he will miss.
Injury also forced Hup Wei, who finished fifth in New Delhi in 2010, out of the Sea Games in Naypyidaw last December and a hip injury suffered in training recently put paid to his plans of competing in Glasgow.
Hup Wei’s misfortune comes too late for the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) to name a replacement which means only five track and field athletes will go to Scotland for the July 23-Aug 3 Games.
This will be the smallest Malaysian representation in athletics since 2002, when four athletes went to Manchester though they returned with one silver and one bronze medal through Hisham Khaironi (100m para sport) and Yuan Yufang (20km walk) respectively.
There were also fears that Yap Sean Yee, another high jumper, might have to delay her Commonwealth Games debut but MAF technical director Robert Ballard said Sean Yee has only a minor muscle spasm, having skipped the Malaysian Open in Kangar last week as a precaution.
“Hup Wei is 100 per cent out and it is too late to name a replacement as the entry deadline by name has passed,” said Ballard yesterday.
“Sean Yee, as far as we are aware, only has a minor muscle strain. This means only five athletes will be going to Glasgow and they are presently tapering off after a final few weeks of hard training.”
Besides Sean Yee, the others named for Glasgow are high jumper Nauraj Singh Randhawa, pole vaulter Iskandar Alwi, hammer thrower Jackie Wong and 100m hurdler Raja Nursheena Raja Azhar.
Nauraj and Iskandar did well in Kangar with the former posting a personal best of 2.21m while the latter cleared 5.10m before opting against going for a new national record.
“Nauraj did wonderfully well and that performance will surely boost his confidence,” said Ballard. “If he can repeat that in Glasgow, he could finish in the top five.”
The athletes are not expected to win medals in Glasgow though MAF has set a target for each to reach the finals of their respective events.
By DEVINDER SINGH - NST
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