KUALA LUMPUR: High jumper Lee Hup Wei made history last night by becoming the first Malaysian track and field athlete to reach a World Athletics Championships final.
The former national record holder cleared 2.29m – also his personal best – in the Group B qualifying round at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha, Qatar to seal his place in Saturday’s final.
The 32-year-old three-time SEA Games gold medallist finished ninth of 12 jumpers in his group.
Hup Wei’s attempt was also just 0.01m shy of Nauraj Singh Randhawa’s national record.
In doing so, the 2007 Asian champion justified Malaysian Athletics Federation’s decision to use their only wildcard allocation on him.
The final on Saturday is at 1.15am.