Malaysia Athletics makes U-turn, rehires sprint coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim ahead of Thailand SEA Games

Malaysia Athletics’ short-sightedness has forced it to make a U-turn to rehire former sprint coach Mohd Poad Md Kassim, six months after giving him the boot.

Malaysia Athletics president Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim (main image) said the National Sports Council (NSC) has agreed to support the decision to rehire Mohd Poad.

He also said NSC has agreed to provide additional coaches to prepare the national team for the Thailand SEA Games at the end of the year.

“NSC had earlier agreed to provide us with six additional coaches, but now we have requested an additional slot for Mohd Poad, and they have agreed in principle,” said Shahidan after an MA council meeting at Wisma OCM today.

“If possible, we want him here quickly, but we will announce the actual date when we sort everything out.”

Mohd Poad, who was let go late last year, started coaching at SMK Tunku Anum Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kedah, on Nov 1, 2024.

Even though he was released, many of the national sprinters were still following his programme.

“We could have sent our athletes to Kedah to train with him as part of decentralised training, but we felt it would be better to have everyone here (Bukit Jalil),” said Shahidan.

“We can’t waste any more time. Even a week’s delay would affect the athletes. That is why we are pushing through to get Mohd Poad here quickly,” said Shahidan.

Shahidan also denied that the decision to rehire the coach was due to an alleged boycott by sprinters.

“There was no boycott. It was a miscommunication. I don’t want to talk about it anymore. We need to focus on the SEA Games,” he said.

“We need to start preparing for that as we have eight months to go.”

The return of Mohd Poad will certainly delight his protégés, national 100m record holders Khairul Hafiz Jantan and Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli.

Khairul Hafiz holds the men’s record of 10.18s, while Zaidatul Husniah’s women’s record is 11.49s.

They have been training under Mohd Poad since 2013.