The role of teachers in unearthing and moulding young talents is undeniable, says Olympian Noraseela Khalid.
The former national hurdler paid tribute to her secondary school physical education teacher, Mahadzir Othman, on the latest episode of the Julang podcast aired on March 5.
“You ask (Datuk) Nicol (David), you ask (Datuk Lee) Chong Wei, you ask anybody… I’m convinced it starts from school, and somebody there ignited the spark,” said Noraseela, who is also president of the Malaysia Olympians Association.
Noraseela recalled that her school, SMK Selayang Bharu, just outside Kuala Lumpur, didn’t have hurdles.
“But this teacher of mine was very passionate. He was new to the school and went to every class to promote the athletics club. When he came to my class, he asked who was interested in athletics. I didn’t raise my hand as I was already involved in many other sports, including netball. In fact, I preferred netball because I was with my friends.
“All of a sudden, he mentioned my name. ‘Noraseela, why didn’t you raise your hand?’ I told him I was already involved in many other sports.”
Noraseela, who was 14 then, said one day, while she was at the field watching her brother, DSP Jamil Khalid, train, Mahadzir saw her and insisted she take up athletics. The rest was history.
“My first hurdle was just a thick wooden bench, and I ran barefoot on grass.”
When she was 15, she represented Malaysia for the first time at the Little Athletics meet held in Kuala Lumpur.
“It was for the 100m hurdles, and I had never done such a distance before. I was told it was okay and that I would be trained in the few days before the competition. The person who guided me then was Datuk Maria Chin (former national sprinter and hurdler). She inspired me.”
Chin was also a school teacher and later became the principal of the Bukit Jalil Sports School in Kuala Lumpur.
Noraseela’s exploits in hurdles didn’t go unnoticed, and she was later offered a spot at SM Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah in Kajang, Selangor, after her PMR examinations. The school was then a centre of excellence for athletics under a National Sports Council programme.
Noraseela said it was easy for her to pick up hurdles as she had already been taught the techniques. It was just a matter of adjusting to the different strides in the 100m and 400m hurdles events.
Her first international meet as a senior athlete was at the 1999 SEA Games in Brunei, where she won gold in the 400m hurdles and broke the national record with a time of 58.70s. The previous record (60.23s) was set by Oon Yee Chan in 1983. Noraseela was also the first Malaysian to win the women’s 400m hurdles since Jessica Lau in 1977.
She went on to secure podium finishes at the Asian Championships and the 2006 Doha Asian Games and last won gold at the 2011 Palembang SEA Games. She hung up her spikes after the 2012 Olympics in London.
On the podcast, Noraseela also shared her training experiences in South Africa and Germany and how sports officials need to be more proactive in drawing up plans to ensure national athletes are not left behind.
Julang, hosted by seasoned journalist Rizal Hashim and Twentytwo13‘s editor Haresh Deol, airs every Wednesday at 9pm on YouTube and Spotify (@julangpodcast).
