Noraseela Khalid Supports Malaysia’s Reconnection with German Athletics
Olympian Noraseela Khalid welcomes Malaysia’s effort to reconnect with German athletics, praising her own training experience in Germany that helped her achieve record-breaking success. She hopes for future collaborations to enhance Malaysian athletics and inspire young athletes to break existing records.
Olympic athlete Noraseela Khalid has expressed her enthusiasm over Malaysia’s recent initiative to re-establish ties with German athletics. Back in 2008, she nearly gave up her sports career but a pivotal decision in 2003 to send her and other athletes to Germany for training revived her ambitions. This opportunity significantly impacted her running career, allowing her to set a remarkable 400m hurdles record of 56.02 seconds in Regensburg, Germany on June 17, 2006, a record that remains unbeaten to this day.
Noraseela is thrilled at the news that Jefri Ngadirin, the director-general of the National Sports Council (NSC), has conferred with officials about sending Malaysian athletes for training in Germany again. She reflects fondly on her own experience, stating, “I cherish my time training in Germany as it made me a better athlete and person.” The former Olympian, who is fluent in German and has completed a sports psychology course there, is hopeful that the collaboration between Malaysia and Germany will be renewed.
Throughout the early 2000s, several Malaysian athletes, such as Moh Siew Wei, Malik Tobias, and Zaiful Zainal Abidin, also benefited from the training opportunities in Germany. High jumper Nauraj Singh made his mark there as well before retiring in 2023. Noraseela attributes much of her success to the training setup with coach Idriss Gonschinska, remarking that it transformed her career trajectory.
“I first broke the national record in 1999, but after a while, I felt stagnated and thought about quitting due to a lack of support,” Noraseela shared. After four years under Gonschinska’s guidance, her progress was evident; she lowered her national record to 56.90 seconds. “Imagine how much faster I could have run if I had gone there sooner,” she mused, hinting at the potential of Malaysian athletes had they continued these fruitful partnerships.
Despite the pride she takes in her lasting record, she admits it is bittersweet: “It is a shame that no one has come close to breaking my record. I’m still the only Malaysian woman to run the 400m hurdles in under a minute.” Noraseela had a recent reunion with Gonschinska, who now leads the German Athletics Association. During his visit, a contingent from Germany trained alongside Malaysian athletes in Kuala Lumpur in preparation for the World Athletics Relays in China, which serve as qualifiers for the upcoming World Championships in Tokyo.
The German team, including bronze medalists from the Women’s 4x100m relay at the Paris Olympic Games and athletes from the men’s relay teams that earned accolades in Rome, trained at the Alice Smith International School for three weeks. Noraseela, who currently serves as president of the Malaysia Olympians Association, expressed her joy in reconnecting with her former coach and teammates, saying, “It was great meeting my former coach and other familiar faces from my time in Germany.”
She hopes for more Malaysian athletes to take advantage of German training facilities and surpass long-standing records. Besides her own, Moh Siew Wei’s 100m hurdles time of 13.27 seconds and Malik Tobias’ decathlon score of 7,095 points also remain to this day. Reflecting on the impact of the partnership with Germany, Noraseela stated, “It makes me wonder how much better off Malaysian athletics would have been if we had continued our friendship with the German association.” She encourages Malaysian Athletics officials to collaborate with authorities to support aspiring athletes further.
In summary, Noraseela Khalid expresses great hope for the rekindling of Malaysia’s relationship with German athletics. Her own experiences and success story underscore the potential benefits of international training opportunities. As Malaysia considers renewed collaboration for its athletes, it brings to light past records that could inspire the next generation of competitors. The call for continued partnerships is loud and clear; there remains a hope for renewed success in Malaysian athletics.
Original Source: malaysia.news.yahoo.com
