Inter-bank loses its glitter

02/11/1998

THE inter-bank athletics championships ended at Merdeka Stadium yesterday
on a pathetic note. Not a single championship record was re-written and,
worse still, the event seems to have lost its glitter and meaning.
The national athletes who competed, won hands down, no qualms there, but
the manner in which they treated the championships, once on par with the
MAAU Open, confirms the meet's impending demise.
So much so, it did not come as a surprise when the president of the
Banks Sports Council, Dom Amy Hussain, announced they were looking at a
merger with the commercial, finance and insurance sector.
"We need to have a bigger pool of athletes and the only way to achieve
it is to have a joint championship with the finance, commercial and
insurance sector. If we continue as a closed championship, it will soon
serve no purpose," said Dom.
High jumper Loo Kum Zee, who set a national record of 2.24m on his way
to the 1995 Sea Games gold medal in Chiangmai, won the gold yesterday with
a jump of 2.00m. He was way off his Chiangmai record and never looked like
bettering his mark in the meet.
Although Loo retained the Sea Games gold in Jakarta last year, he has
failed to clear 2.10m in the last two years. This year, his best effort
was 2.15m at the MAAU Open.
At the 1994 Hiroshima Games, four athletes - hurdler Nur Herman Majid,
long distance specialist M. Ramachandran, Loo and P. Jayanthi - made the
list and only Nur Herman returned with a medal with a blistering 13.73s
run in the 110m hurdles.
Watson Nyambek, however, is looking good for a medal in Bangkok next
month.
Yesterday, the Sarawakian ran the 200m `just for conditioning' and
surprised all with a blistering 21.65s.
The national record is 20.92s clocked by Datuk Dr M. Jegathesan in 1968.
Watson, according to coach Mumtaz Jafar, has yet to reach his peak but
going by his 10.34s in the 100m on Friday, he is definitely a medal
prospect at the Asian Games. RESULTS
RESULTS - MEN Div 1: 200m: Watson Nyambek (BBMB) 21.65, 2 Hamberi Mahat
(Maybank) 22.17, 3 Sport Sunarno (Maybank) 22.55; 800m: 1 A. Nandakumar
1:59.07, 2 Mathews David (Maybank) 2:00.14, 3 R. Ragurama (Hongkong Bank)
2:07.13; 1,500m (veteran): 1 S. Sukumaran (Public Bank) 5:08.32, 2
Zolkeple Ismail (RHB) 5:23.36, 3 Abdul Hamid (Hongkong Bank) 5:31.27; 110m
hurdles: 1 Nur Herman Majid (BBMB) 15.68, 2 Shamry Ali (Maybank) 15.74, 2
Azman Khairuddin (Hongkong Bank) 18.35; 4x400m: 1 Maybank 4:10.44, 2
Public Bank 4:45.84, 3 Ban Hin Lee 4:52.64; 20,000m walk: 1 Narinder Singh
(BBMB) 1hr 37:02.78, 2 R. Muniandy (Hongkong Bank) 2hr 18:59.97; Discus: 1
T. Tharmarajah (Public Bank) 43.30m, 2 Mohamed Rodzi (Maybank) 39.52m, 3
Petira Ghani (Maybank) 37.74m; High Jump: 1 Loo Kum Zee (Maybank) 2.00m, 2
Zulkifli Amin (Public Bank) 1.83m, 3 Azman Khairuddin (Hongkong Bank)
1.75m.
DIV 2 - 200m: 1 Mohamed Surani (Perwira Affin) 23.42, 2 Suhaimi Sidek
(Arab Malaysian) 23.82, 3 Mahathir Ali (OCBC) 24.23; 800m: 1 Mohamed
Jamiron (Southern) 2:41.25, 2 Ng Pak Choon (Citibank) 2:38.92, 3 V. Rakesh
(EON Bank) 2:24.91; 1,500m (veteran) Elyas Mohamed (Perwira Affin)
4:56.43, 2 M. Kanesan (Bank of Commerce) 5:20.02, 3 Goh Sin Nyah (Bank of
Commerce) 5:28.60; 110m hurdles: 1 Geoffrey Edward (EON Bank) 16.53, 2
Abdullah Fauzi (Citibank) 16.85, 3 Omran Omar (Southern Bank) 19.21;
4x400m: 1 Perwira Affin Bank 3:39.39, 2 EON Bank 3:41.46, 3 Pacific Bank
3:49.51; 20,000m walks: 1 U. Bagwandi (Bank of Commerce) 2hr 2:34.93;
Discus: 1 Wong Chee Ching (OCBC) 29.53m, 2 Norazaha Ahmad (Perwira Affin)
29.36m, 3 Syed Faizal (Pacific Bank) 28.83m; Triple Jump: 1 Abdullah Fauzi
(Citibank) 13.31m, 2 Aham Nazri (Bank of Commerce) 11.68m, 3 Elyas Mohamed
(Perwira Affin Bank) 11.47m.
WOMEN Div 1 - 200m: 1 G. Shanti 24.96 (Maybank), 2 P. Kuganeswari (BBMB)
25.71, 3 Carol Lucia Alfred (Maybank) 25.79; 800m: 1 K. Soloseeni
(Maybank) 2:10.94, 2 K. Latha (Maybank) 2:33.47, 3 Nancy Lai (Hongkong
Bank) 2:40.01; 100m hurdles: 1 Hii Siew Ngiik (Maybank) 15.08, 2 Almawati
Kassim (Public Bank) 17.18, 3 Kok Kah Wei (Public Bank) 20.50; 4x400m: 1
Maybank 3:23.17, 2 Ban Hin Lee 3:39.58, 3 Public Bank 3:46.07; 3,000m
Steeplechase: 1 K. Latha (Maybank) 12:33.07, 2 Sandra Jacob (Public Bank)
15:24.50, 3 Malinda Nataniel (Public Bank) 16:03.73; Javelin: 1 Masliza
Shaari (Maybank) 39.90m, 2 Ang Sau Ping (Ban Hin Lee) 27.00m, 3 Joyce Ong
(Public Bank) 25.88m.
DIV 2 - 200m: 1 Cecilia Ng (Perwira Affin Bank) 33.56, 2 Phuah May Wah
(OCBC) 33.51, 3 Joey Lai Oi Ming; 800m: 1 Lucy Lim (OCBC) 3:06.76, 2
Michelle Lau (Citibank) 3:07.87, 3 Nor Aishikin (Bank of Commerce)
3:13.24; 4x400m: 1 Arab Malaysian 5:06.39, 2 Standard Chartered 5:12.04, 3
Citibank 6:26.77; 3,000m Steeplechase: 1 Lucy Lim (OCBC) 14:15.63;
Javelin: 1 Nursuhaila Azlina (Arab Malaysian) 28.08m, 2 Mohamed Norazmati
(Pacific Bank) 22.05m, 3 Mashiela Salim (Perwira Affin Bank) 20.84m.
(END)