Contributed by reader Soh Rui Yong

Tuesday, 29 September, 2009 – 25-year-old Muhammad Shah Feroz will face keen competition to retain his 1500m men’s title at the Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Track-and-Field Championships which is less than a fortnight away on 11 and 18 October.

Amongst his closest rivals will be his Nanyang Technological University (NTU) team-mate Colin Tung, the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Madankumar Balakrishnan – the 2008 runner-up – and Chua Ee Ghim and Singapore Polytechnic’s Ravin Muthu Kumar.

Feroz and Madankumar will renew the rivalry they had started in 2008. The pair had clocked personal best times of 4 minutes 12.42 seconds and 4:13.10 in winning the gold and silver medals respectively.

In the 2008 final, Feroz, made a breakaway with 500m remaining in a brave tactical move that caught the pack by surprise and which had Madankumar chasing his tail. That maneouvre with over a lap left to go in the race with Madankumar pushing him all the way brought Feroz to his knees at the finish and induced him to throw up. Less than a second separated them last year. One wonders if one year makes any difference at all between the two?

They have met twice in 2009 and the head-to-head record stands at 1-1, with each garnering one triumph over the other, lending little indication of just who the IVP men's 1500m title will go to on 11 October. But if there is anything those races that pitted them together can tell us, it is their strengths.

At the Singapore Athletics Association (SAA) 3rd All-comers Meet on 14 March in a 1500m race, Feroz used his trademark early surge to gain a gap over Madankumar, allowing him to survive the fearsome kick Madankumar is known for.

However, at the SAA 4th All-comers Meet on 5 April, this time over 800m, Madankumar turned the tables on Feroz. The former broke 2:00 with a time of 1:59.95 in finishing ahead of Feroz who clocked 2:02.20.

In considering the two All-comers meets, with last year's IVP 1500m race in mind as well, it is apparent that Feroz has the edge over the longer 1500m distance. His strength is in his tenacity to run the legs off his rivals from the start.

For Madankumar, his strength is in his speed and if he can stay on the shoulder of Feroz up to the last 300m, he can score an upset with his kick.

Feroz and Madankumar are undoubtedly the favourites given their experience and achievements in the IVP track-and-field championships. But waiting in the shadows to pounce are athletes who are no lesser in pedigree. Two of the three we will preview will be Feroz's and Madankumar's counterparts at NTU and NUS respectively.

A member of the Anglo-Chinese Junior College (ACJC) boys' A Division cross-country championship-winning team of 2006 and an 800m boys' A Division bronze medallist in the same year, 21-year-old Colin Tung poses an outside threat to the duo. He is a freshman in NTU and earned the second of two spots on the NTU team for the 1500m behind Feroz in their internal selection trials.

22-year-old Chua Ee Ghim, part of the same ACJC cross-country team that won the inter-school title in 2006, has medalled at every divisional level in cross-country and track-and-field at the national inter-school championships. His last 1500m victory at schools' level came in 2004 in the A Division.

Ee Ghim has only just recently resumed training but that has not stopped him from qualifying for a spot on the NUS team in the 1500m behind Madankumar. A veteran of the running scene and one of the most decorated athletes at schools' level, he knows what it takes to win a race and it will be unwise to write off his chances.

19-year-old Ravin Muthu Kumar of Singapore Polytechnic is the youngest of the lot and would be seeking to prove against the older university rivals that being younger does not equate to being physically inferior.

Ravin has notched some notable performances in both the 800m and 1500m this year. He defeated both Feroz as well as Soh Hua Qun of Raffles Institution, this year's National Schools' A division 800m champion, at the Swift Track-and-Field Championships in June, clocking 2:00.3.

A week earlier, he had also left the field trailing in his wake as he blitzed to the Under-20 boys' 1500m title at the National Junior Track-and-Field Championships in a time of 4:20.23. If Ravin keeps up in the same vein of form he showed earlier in the year, he will undoubtedly be up there jostling for the title with the big boys.

With at least four formidable challengers to his crown, Feroz will face stiff resistance in retaining the 1500m men's title. He may or may not relish the competition but for those watching, the race promises to be a delight.

So, for those who do not want to rue missing out of the action, do head down to Bukit Gombak Stadium on 11 and 18 October to catch our nation's best metric-milers and track-and-field athletes in action!

Institute-Varsity-Polytechnic (IVP) Track-and-Field Schedule of Events

Sunday, 11 October 2009

Track
1400h – 110m hurdles heats (Men’s)
1415h – 100m hurdles heats (Women’s)
1435h – 100m heats (M)
1445h – 100m heats (W)
1500h – 400m heats (M)
1510h – 400m heats (W)
1520h – 1500m final (M)
1535h – 1500m final (W)
1550h – 3000m steeplechase final (M)
1630h – 110m hurdles final (M)
1640h – 100m hurdles final (W)
1700h – 100m final (M)
1705h – 100m final (W)
1710h – 400m final (M)
1715h – 400m final (W)
1720h – 10 000m final (M)
1810h – 4x100m heats (M)
1820h – 4x100m heats (W)

Field (all straight-final)
1400h – Pole Vault (M), Triple Jump (M), High Jump (W) and Discus (M)
1615h – Triple Jump (W), Shot Put (W) and Javelin (M)

Sunday, 18 October 2009

Track
1400h – 400m hurdles finals (W)
1415h – 400m hurdles finals (M)
1430h – 200m heats (W)
1440h – 200m heats (M)
1450h – 800m final (W)
1500h – 800m final (M)
1530h – 3000m final (W)
1600h – 200m final (W)
1605h – 200m final (M)
1645h – 4x100m final (W)
1650h – 4x100m final (M)
1700h – 5000m final (M)
1750h – 4x400m finals (W)
1800h – 4x400m finals (M)

Field (all straight-final)
1400h – Discus (W), Long Jump (W), High Jump (M)
1615h – Javelin (W), Long Jump (M), Shot Put (M)

Start lists can be downloaded at Start Lists: IVP Track-and-Field Championships Day 1 and Start Lists: IVP Track-and-Field Championships Day 2.