Md Fakhri Ismail during a training session at the Kallang Practice Track in Singapore during last June’s SEA Games in Singapore.BT file
MD FAKHRI Ismail will be lacing up for the Hong Kong Inter-City Athletic Championship 2016 on June 25 - his final international meet before the 2016 Rio Olympics in August.
The tournament will the nation’s top sprinter and national 100m record holder’s first time competing at the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground, Hong Kong - where he will be contesting in the 100m event.
“The Hong Kong Inter-City tournament is the final international event I’ll be going for before my opportunity to compete in the Olympics, and I have to make the most of it,” said Md Fakhri in an interview with The Brunei Times yesterday. “There’s another tournament I have my eyes on – the Thailand Open Track and Field Championships 2016 – but it’s happening on the first day of Hari Raya Aidil Fitri and if possible, I would like to spend some time with my family.
“Of course, if I’m selected to represent the country for the Thailand Open, then I will go, because not only it’s another opportunity to make the country proud but serves as great preparation. “The pressure to perform is always there, but one of my ways to overcome it is to prepare as much as I can and just do my best,” he added.
In light of Md Fakhri’s Olympic journey, The Energy Kitchen - the sultanate’s first healthy food restaurant - is providing the national sprinter’s meals up to the Aug 5-21 tournament in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The Energy Kitchen team is working closely with Alim Roslan, a US-certified trainer under the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) and an experienced sports nutritionist, to create Md Fakhri’s three month meal plan. “Proper nutrition is important not just for Md Fakhri’s performance but also with his recovery - where the gains are made,” said Alim.
“It is essential that Md Fakhri’s food intake help him to achieve maximum recovery, replenish his glycogen levels and build muscles. “A sprinter like him needs high power to weight ratio, so he needs the right food and nutrients to provide him energy for his morning trainings and his high intensity afternoon sessions,” added Alim.
