Malaysia –National pole vaulter, Iskandar Alwi has to be content with eighth position in the men’s pole vault finals at the 17th Asian Games today. The Johor Baharu-born athlete, however, managed to improve on the five-metre jump he achieved at the Commwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland in August when he jumped 5.10 metres at the Incheon Asiad’s Main Stadium. The gold medal for the event went to Xue Changrui of China who jumped 5.55 metres, at par with Japanese silver medallist Sawand Daichi’s jump. The decider on the gold and silver medals was based on the number of jumps made when two athletes shared the same point.The bronze medal was won by South Korea’s Jin Min-sub who made a jump of 5.45 meters.Iskandar, 20, said the rain did not affect his focus but he still failed to perform his best.”Today is not my day and I don’t know what else to say… although I have done my very best,” he told reporters.The holder of the national record of 5.15 metres at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) 2014 in Perlis in May, said he was not afraid or nervous when performing with the world’s great athletes.”I will rest a while after this because I will not be taking part in any championship, but will continue to focus on my training to improve my weaknesses in preparation for championships in next year’s calendar,” he added. – Bernama, September 28, 2014.
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