By REDintern Emmanuel Phua. With additional reporting from Erwin Wong
Abdul Salam of East Coast powering his way to a timing of 14.47 seconds in the 100m. (Photo 1 © Les Tan/Red Sports)
Bishan Stadium, Saturday, September 8, 2012 — Abdul Salam, 63, of East Coast, showed that age is just a number when he ran the 100m in 14.47 seconds on the third and final day of the Singapore National Games Track and Field competition.
“I will participate in the next edition of the Singapore National Games. I’m health conscious, I will run as long as I can,” said Abdul Salam, on whether he will participate in future races like these.
Due to the small number of entries, Abdul Salam ran with four other runners from different age categories in a timed final.
“We don’t know where we stand as we do not have heats due to many people who sign up but do not turn up for the race. Also, I have competitors who are 70 and above running in my race and I feel that this is not fair to them as I will definitely have an advantage over them, being younger. They should have their own race category,” said Abdul Salam sportingly.
Abdul Salam was the only runner in the 60-64 age category.
In the 100m final for the 35-39 category, former schoolboy runner Hassan Saini, 36, won the race in 12.63.
“It’s tiring, but I enjoyed the race,” said Saini, still trying to catch his breath.
Keith Pereira, 39, of Bishan-Toa Payoh finished second in 13.55 while Lim Yeow Heng, 36, of East Coast was third in 13.57.
“I feel that it (Singapore National Games) has achieved its purpose of bonding the community through sports. My competitors are friendly and it is unlike typical competitions where everyone is serious and focused on winning. One of them (Saharial Mustafa) fell at the start of the race and we were all concerned,” added Saini.
Saini ran for St Patrick’s School and then went to run for Tampines Junior College. He won gold in the A Division 100 and 200m in the 1993 national schools’ track and field championships. After coming in second in the A Division 100m in 1994 to U.K. Shyam, he won the A Division 100 gold in 1995.
When asked about how he prepared for this race, he said: “I did not train much, just going to the stadium once a week.”
“Winning was not on my mind. I joined just to enjoy the race, to reminisce and experience how it feels like to compete again. This race reminds me of my athletic days in the past,” added Saini.
Men’s 100m 35-39 Masters
1st 301 Saini Hassan, 36 (Pasir Ris-Punggol) — 12.63
2nd 166 Keith Pereira, 39 (Bishan-Toa Payoh) — 13.55
3rd 197 Lim Yeow Heng, 36 (East Coast) — 13.57
4th 320 Mohamed Faisal Ayoob, 36 (Sembawang) — 14.40
5th 255 Saharial Mustafa, 38 (Jurong) — 27.64
Men’s 100m 40-44 Masters
1st 369 Steven Tay, 41 (Tanjong Pagar) — 12.10
2nd 142 Ng Chee Koon, 42 (Ang Mo Kio) — 14.40
3rd 348 Goh Soon Tee, 44 (Tampines) — 14.84
4th 359 Eddy Chong, 43 (Tanjong Pagar) — 15.10
5th 275 Loh Jee Seng, 41 (Marine Parade) — 15.34
Men’s 100m 45-49 Masters
1st 278 Kevin Tan Keng Lay, 47 (Marine Parade) — 12.61
2nd 243 Ravikiran Inavolu Venkata, 46 (Jurong) — 14.78
3rd 362 Simon Khoo, 47 (Tanjong Pagar) — 15.49
4th 183 Ernest Tan, 47 (Chua Chu Kang) — 15.55
5th 247 Lee Chuan Hoe, 47 (Jurong) — 16.04
6th 332 Yap Neng See, 49 (Sembawang) — 16.71
Desmond De Cruz, 49 (Marine Parade) — DNS
Men’s 100m 50-54 Masters
1st 215 Tan Kim Seng, 53 (Holland-Bukit Timah) — 12.90
2nd 196 Matthew Liew, 50 (East Coast) — 13.17
3rd 163 Alan Koh, 54 (Bishan-Toa Payoh) — 13.70
4th 287 Stanley Wee, 54 (Moulmein-Kallang) — 13.78
5th 333 Jacky Chua Choo Thing, 51 (Tampines) — 15.01
Ho Joo Ann, 51 (East Coast) — DNS
Chia Wing Yew, 52 (Jurong) — DNS
Men’s 100m 55-59 Masters
1st 216 Tang Weng Fei, 58 (Holland-Bukit Timah) — 15.02
Chiang Puat Soon, 58 (Jurong) — DNS
Men’s 100m 60-64 Masters
1st 188 Abdul Salam Bin Haji Hamid, 63 (East Coast) — 14.47
Seah Chew Cheng, 62 (Aljunied) — DNS
Men’s 100m 65-69 Masters
1st 327 Lim Ah Seng, 65 (Sembawang) — 16.81
2nd 298 Affandi Bin Buand, 67 (Pasir Ris-Punggol) — 17.57
Men’s 100m 70+ Masters
1st 347 Foo Dun Heen, 72 (Tampines) — 16.94
2nd 143 Ng Ngoh Heng, 74 (Ang Mo Kio) — 21.56
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