KUALA LUMPUR: Juggling his time between training and family life is a new experience for national archer Mohd Marbawi Sulaiman.
But he is determined to strike a balance.
Marbawi, who tied the knot in October last year, struggled in the initial stages to give equal focus to both the loves of his life — family and archery.
“In the beginning, it was not easy. There were extra responsibilities on my shoulder. But, at the end of the day, it is all a matter of adjustment,” said the soft-spoken Marbawi.
Now that he has settled down, Marbawi is looking forward to his first international tournament this year — the first-leg of the Asian Grand Prix in Bangkok from Feb 19-23.
The aim is to defend the team gold that he won with Cheng Chu Sian and Wan Mohd Khalmizan Wan Abdul Aziz.
The trio’s previous outing together was at last year’s Beijing Olympic Games.
“It has been a while since all three of us took part in a competition,” said Marbawi, who trains under South Korean Lee Jae-hyung.
“We have not been training together as much as before. Our training times are different because both my team-mates are busy with their studies.
“But it is good that we get to come together at least once a week. We encourage and keep supporting one another.
“The first-leg of the Asian GP will be a good platform to gauge where we stand after the long break. It will be great if we can get off to a good start to the year by winning the team title again.”
Besides achieving consistent results in the Asian Grand Prix and World Cup series this year, the trios’ main goals are the World Championships in South Korea in September and the Laos SEA Games in December.
