Friday October 5, 2012

Injury rules Noraseela out of national meet

By AFTAR SINGH

KUALA LUMPUR: Hurdler Noraseela Khalid has aggravated her Achilles tendon injury and will not feature in the national championships which begin this weekend at the National Sports Council (NSC) training track in Bukit Jalil.

The 33-year-old national 400m hurdles champion said she has been suffering from the injury since 2009.

“I’ve had the injury on and off. Despite the injury, I competed in the 4x400m in the Armed Forces meet last weekend,” said Noraseela, who holds the national record of 56.02 set in Regensburg, Germany, in 2006.

“I went to see the NSI (National Sports Institute) doctor and he has advised me to stop competing as it will worsen the injury.

“I am still discussing with doctor about the need to go for surgery. I’ll be out of action for a few months if I undergo surgery and will only be back in training next February.”

Noraseela made her Olympic debut at the London Games where she clocked a dismal time of 1:00.16 in the heats.

She blamed the poor time on a hamstring injury.

“I intend to run in next year’s Myanmar SEA Games and defend the gold medal which I won in Palembang last year,” said Noraseela.

The Selangor runner made her SEA Games debut in 1999 in Brunei and has won three gold medals – in Hanoi, Vietnam (2003); Vientiane, Laos (2009); and Palembang, Indonesia (2011).

Noraseela has also won bronze medals in the Asian Track and Field (ATF) in Jakarta in 2000 and also in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

Meanwhile, 78 athletes from seven countries – Brunei, Singapore, Iran, Kuwait, Thailand, Taiwan and Hong Kong – will compete in the two-day national meet.

A total of 252 local athletes from 14 states will be in action in the 45 events.

More News