PETALING JAYA: National athletics coach Malik Tobias has stressed the need for more competitive outings in the coming months to help Malaysian athletes fine-tune their performances ahead of the SEA Games in Thailand.

Malik believes consistent exposure to high-level competition is critical, especially for athletes like high jumper Norliyana Kama­ruddin, who clinched gold with a 1.75m jump in the Thailand Open at the National Athletics Centre in Pathumtani.