There was something slightly strange about watching Malaysian athletics in Nagoya.

Some of the loudest Malaysian cheers belonged to two sprinters wearing Thai and Singaporean colours.

Puripol Boonson came tearing down the home straight and it was impossible not to watch. Shanti Pereira emerged from the bend in the rain and Malaysians could only marvel.

Perhaps that is what sport is supposed to do. Excellence has no passport.

But it also leaves Malaysian athletics with an uncomfortable question.