Asian Games: Men's 4x100m quartet poised to break Malaysian record, says coach

His assessment was based on the performance of his charges during a 36-day training stint in Europe recently, with newcomer Zulfiqar Ismail bonding well with his team-mates.

"Our athletes showed good progress there. Despite the lack of competitions [in Europe] as their athletes were busy preparing for the 2018 European Athletics Championships in Berlin, Germany, it was still a successful stint.

"We had full time training there, no disturbance and more time for recovery. Based on the individual time, I am optimistic that they will break the record," said Balamurugan when contacted by Bernama on Monday.

Balamurugan led the men's sprint team also consisting Khairul Hafiz Jantan, Nixson Kennedy, Jonathan Nyepa and Haiqal Hanafi as well as national sprint queen Zaidatul Husniah Zulkifli for the training in Europe.

During the stint in Besigheim, Germany, Zulfiqar recorded his personal best of 10.40s, while SEA Games sprint king Khairul Hafiz (10.28s), Nixson (10.51s) and Zaidatul Husniah (11.59s) also clocked their season's bests.

However, it was learnt that the men's relay runners were still in the dark over their participation at the Asian Games, as the Malaysian Athletics Federation (MAF) had yet to confirm on the category of participation.

Meanwhile, chef-de-mission (CDM) Abdul Azim Zabidi told Bernama it had been confirmed the team would be going to the Asian Games under category B.

Abdul Azim said the MAF's appeal to add three more athletes for the Asiad, namely men's 110m hurdler Rayzam Shah Wan Sofian, hammer thrower Jackie Wong Siew Cheer and pole vaulter Iskandar Alwi was pending the approval of Indonesia Asian Games 2018 Organising Committee (INASGOC).

“They [the MAF] only requested for three more athletes about two weeks ago, which was after the final dealine for shortlist on June 30. The MAF said it was because the athletes only showed improvement in their recent outings.

“We have sent the appeal to INASGOC and are still waiting for their answer. We have to be prepared for any decision made by the organiser,” he said.

Expenditure for athletes listed under category A will be fully borne by the government, while category B athletes will have to bear their own cost but they will be refunded if they win at least a bronze medal.

Only seven athletes in athletics made the cut for category A, namely high jumpers Nauraj Singh Randhawa and Lee Hup Wei, Irfan Samsuddin (discus throw), Hakimi Ismail (triple jump), Zaidatul Husniah (women’s 100m), Luqman Hakim Ramlan (long jump) and Norliyana Kamaruddin (heptathlon).