KUALA LUMPUR — Returning to the grassroots level after being accustomed to being in a senior position can be a challenge for some, but not for sprint coach, Mohd Poad Kassim.
After his services were no longer required by the Malaysia Athletics Federation (MAF), Poad began a new chapter at Kedah Sports School, specifically at Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) Tunku Anum Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kedah, starting November 1.
For Poad, the move feels like coming home, and he is determined to nurture a new generation of talented sprinters in Kedah.
“I don’t feel awkward at all because I, as a coach, also started from the bottom. In fact, this is an opportunity for me to develop more sprinters, especially in Kedah.
“My focus here is solely on the sprint athletes.
“Wherever I go, I will set the KPIs myself and of course, the goal is to secure gold medals at the MSSM (Malaysia Schools Sports Council) and Sukma (Malaysia Games) levels,” said Poad when contacted by Scoop.
Currently, Poad is mentoring three promising athletes—Dzul Danish Jamari, Aiman Ikhwan Yahya, and Muhammad Umaira Subri—all of whom represented Malaysia at the SEA Youth competition in Sarawak earlier this month.
Poad possesses a magical touch not only at the senior level but also in coaching young athletes, earning a solid reputation for his work with rising talents.
Among his notable protégés is Badrul Hisyam Abdul Manap, who broke the national 100m record at the 2015 Asean Schools Championships. Unfortunately, his achievement of 10.29 seconds was not officially recognised due to a controversy.
Poad also guided Khairul Hafiz Jantan to become Asia’s fastest junior sprinter in 2016. That same year, Khairul broke Watson Nyambek’s national 100m record at the Sukma Games in Sarawak, aged just 18.
In 2017, under Poad’s guidance, Khairul ended Malaysia’s 14-year wait for a Southeast Asian sprint king by winning gold at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games.
Another success story is Haiqal Hanafi, who defied expectations to defend gold for the country in the blue-ribbon event at the 2019 SEA Games in the Philippines.
Poad’s final contribution as a national coach was guiding Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli to break the national women’s 100m record, clocking 11.49 seconds at the Perlis Open Championship earlier this month. This surpassed G. Shanti’s 1993 record of 11.50 seconds.
Additionally, Poad helped the women’s 4x100m relay team secure bronze at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
Most recently, Nur Afrina Batrisyia Mohamad Rizal set two new records in the 100m and 200m events at the Sukma Games in Kuching under his guidance. — December 9, 2024
