Sidibari
The 6th Asian U18 Athletics Championships will get underway tomorrow morning in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, with the Maldives junior athletics team making their final preparations on the ground.
The squad departed for the Kingdom yesterday, with the five-day tournament scheduled to run from Tuesday to Saturday.
Speaking to Sidibari, middle-distance runner Zeek Ashraf shared her hopes of making it through to the 800m final.
“I’ll be running with the hope of winning a medal, or at least qualifying for the finals. In Sha Allah, I’ll set a new personal best,” Zeek said.
Zeek says she has been training specifically for the 800m for the past six months. She was part of the Maldives relay squad that clinched bronze in the 4x100m final at last year’s South Asian Junior Athletics Championship in Chennai.
The Maldivian team will be in action in three events on Tuesday. In the afternoon, Ahunaf Rayyan Fahumee will line up for the boys’ 100m heats, followed shortly by Rayn Mohamed in the girls’ 100m. Later in the day, Luhya Ahmed will compete in the girls’ 400m heat.
On Wednesday morning, Yoosuf Naik Vajeeh will aim to clear his way into the high jump semifinals, while Ahunaf returns to the track for the boys’ 200m sprint. Zeek will run her 800m heat in the evening, and both Rayn and Luhya will race again in the girls’ 200m event later that night.
Should Naik qualify from the high jump quarters, he will also compete on Wednesday.
