Aziera hampa walau berjaya capai sasaran
bazly@hmetro.com.my
PENCAPAIAN tempat keempat pasukan recurve wanita negara di Grand Prix Asia pertama di Bangkok, berakhir Isnin lalu, gagal menggembirakan pemanah negara, Nor Aziera Taib sekalipun berjaya menepati sasaran Persatuan Memanah Kebangsaan Malaysia (NAAM).
Aziera, yang membentuk trio recurve bersama S Anbarasi dan Nor Amirah Mohamad, tewas tipis, 194-195 kepada Kazakhstan ketika penentuan pingat gangsa selepas kecundang seawal pusingan ketiga acara recurve individu.
“Saya fikir ada peningkatan prestasi dan kejayaan mara ke separuh akhir recurve berpasukan setidak-tidaknya mencapai sasaran ditetapkan persatuan. Kekalahan tipis (Kazakhstan) dianggap bukan rezeki kami untuk mencipta kejayaan pada kejohanan pertama tahun ini.
“Namun, ia satu petanda positif dan kami akan berbincang mengenai kesilapan Bangkok yang perlu diperbaiki sepanjang sesi latihan yang bersambung esok (hari ini),” katanya.
NAAM sebelum ini menetapkan sasaran skuad wanita ke peringkat separuh akhir dan lelaki, ke final.
Kedua-duanya berjaya dicapai apabila Cheng Chu Sian meraih pingat perak recurve individu lelaki namun trio recurve berpasukan gagal mempertahankan kejuaraan musim lalu apabila terkandas di suku akhir.
Mengulas kekurangan pemanah wanita iaitu seramai tiga orang, pemanah berusia 21 tahun itu menyerahkannya kepada pertimbangan jurulatih (Lee Jae-hyun) dan NAAM.
“Jurulatih atau persatuan lebih arif. Saya dan pemanah wanita lain tetap fokus kepada program latihan yang sudah dirangka biarpun tanpa kehadiran pelapis untuk kejohanan berikutnya.
“Buat masa ini saya hanya mahu berehat sebelum kembali ke lapangan sasar MSN (Majlis Sukan Negara) Bukit Jalil,” katanya.
Kelmarin, Jae-hyun mengakui kurang gembira dengan pencapaian anak buahnya di Bangkok terutamanya trio lelaki Olimpik Beijing dengan ketandusan kejohanan sejak enam bulan lalu dikenal pasti sebagai punca utama.
Sekalipun gembira dengan prestasi skuad wanita, jurulatih dari Korea Selatan itu membayangkan pertambahan dua pelapis untuk menyertai barisan elit menjelang ujian kedua, Sirkit Kebangsaan pertama di Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, pada 8-12 April depan.
Selamat maruah
bazly@hmetro.com.my
PASUKAN memanah compound wanita menyelamatkan maruah Malaysia apabila merangkul pingat emas tunggal pada hari terakhir Grand Prix Asia pertama di Bangkok, kelmarin untuk melengkapkan pungutan satu emas, tiga perak dan satu gangsa.
Kejayaan itu dicapai trio Siti Aisah Sudin, Saritha Cham Nong dan Hasbudiana Burhanuddin bagi menepati sasaran ketua jurulatih, Lee Jae-hyun yang berharap skuad lelaki setidak-tidaknya mara ke final manakala wanita, separuh akhir.
Baki tiga perak diraih Cheng Chu Sian dalam acara recurve individu lelaki, Azizul Azri Abdul Aziz (compound individu lelaki) dan Hasbudiana (compound individu wanita) manakala gangsa tunggal, compound berpasukan lelaki.
Perkembangan itu nyata kurang disenangi Jae-hyun, yang lebih memberi tumpuan terhadap recurve. Namun pengendali kelahiran Korea Selatan terbabit memahami masalah prestasi dihadapi anak buahnya.
“Enam bulan mereka tidak menyertai kejohanan
, jadi ia mengambil masa untuk kembali mendapatkan sentuhan terbaik. Saya akui kurang gembira dengan keputusan ini biarpun berjaya mencapai sasaran.
“Saya lihat kebanyakannya agak tumpul di Bangkok. Mungkin kerana terlalu lama tidak beraksi sejak Sukan Olimpik Beijing hingga menyebabkan mereka agak gugup,” katanya.
Paling terjejas pastilah trio recurve lelaki Olimpik Beijing, yang tewas 206-209 kepada Kazakhstan pada suku akhir.
Namun, ia dijadikan eksperimen apabila Jae-hyun menyenaraikan pemanah remaja, Izzudin Abd Rahim menggantikan Muhd Marbawi Sulaiman untuk menyertai Chu Sian dan Wan Mohd Khalmizan Wan Abd Aziz.
“Izzudin mencatat peningkatan agak ketara
berbanding pelapis elit lain dan saya menyenaraikannya buat pertama kali dalam skuad recurve kebangsaan. Tapi, ia bukan kekal kerana hanya percubaan dan tidak bermakna peluang Marbawi sudah tertutup.
“Saya mahu mewujudkan persaingan sihat dalam perebutan slot recurve berpasukan dan berharap strategi ini dapat membantu meningkatkan prestasi mereka,” katanya.
Apapun, prestasi statik skuad wanita paling membimbangkan Jae-hyun ekoran masalah bilangan pemanah recurve wanita yang hanya seramai tiga orang.
“Jumlah ini terlalu sedikit dan saya terpaksa menambah dua pelapis menyertai mereka. Tapi, kedua-duanya akan menduduki SPM (Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia), hujung tahun ini dan ia pasti mengganggu persediaan menjelang kejohanan lebih besar.
“Namun, trio recurve wanita menunjukkan pen
ingkatan di Bangkok dan membuktikan Malaysia masih berpotensi mendominasi kategori ini,” katanya sekembali ke tanah air, semalam.
Trio recurve wanita menghuni tangga keempat apabila tewas tipis, 194-195 kepada Kazakhstan pada perebutan gangsa selepas ketiga-tiganya tersingkir awal dalam acara individu.
Skuad kebangsaan akan meneruskan latihan di Bukit Jalil, esok, bagi menghadapi kejohanan berikutnya, Sirkit Kebangsaan pertama di Unive
rsiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, pada 8-12 April depan.
Female archers steal the show as men’s team flop in Bangkok
PETALING JAYA: The Malaysian women’s compou
nd team stole the show with a golden effort as the highly fancied men’s recurve team failed to live up to expectations in the Asian Grand Prix first leg championships in Bangkok yesterday.
The trio of Saritha Cham Nong, Hasbudiana Burhanuddin and Siti Aishah Sudin beat world ranked No. 9 India 222-217 in the final to bag the gold medal. Malaysia had defeated Myanmar 211-207 in the semi-finals.
The women’s compound competition featured four
teams and Malaysia finished second behind India in the qualification round last week.
India, who are the top ranked Asian team in women’s compound, were led by individual gold medallist Jhanu Hansda. However, the Indian archers failed to keep up with the momentum in the final.
It was the first time that the Malaysian women’s team clinched gold in the Asian Grand Prix. And their efforts certainly put them as strong cont
enders for the gold medal in the Laos SEA Games in December where compound archery will be contested along with the Olympic recurve events.
Malaysia finished out of the medals in women’s compound archery at the previous SEA Games in Korat in 2007.
The coordinator for archery at the National Sports Council (NSC), Hazani Hashim, said that there was a good chance the drought would end in
Laos.
Saritha and Hasbudiana are also good medal bets for the individual title if their performance in Bangkok are of any indications.
The 20-year-old Saritha, a triple gold medallist in Sukma (Malaysia Games) in Kuala Terengganu last year, finished top in the qualific
ation round but lost in the quarterfinals while Hasbudiana ended up as the silver medallist.
“Saritha is the only archer based in the Bukit Jali
l Sports School while the other two are from the Armed Forces and trains at the NSC centre in Datuk Keramat (Kuala Lumpur),” said Hazani.
“We have not identified the squad but their performances will surely be taken into account.”
In the men’s compound team event, Malaysia b
agged a bronze through Lang Hon Keong, Mohd Kaharuddin Ashah and Azizul Azri Abdul Azis. The team received a bye into the semi-finals after finishing top in the qualification round.
They lost to Thailand 217-223 and claimed third place by beating India 225-212.
The men’s recurve team of Cheng Chu Sian, Wan Khalmizam Wan Abdul Aziz and Mohd Izzuddin Abdul Rahim failed to clear the quarter-finals, losing 206-209 to Kazakhstan.
Japan, led by Olympic silver medallist Hiroshi Yamamoto, won the gold, beating India 218-214 in the final.
The Malaysian women’s recurve team, led by S. A
nbarasi, finished fourth. They were beaten 194-195 by Kazakhstan in the shoot for the bronze.
Izzuddin fills third slot in recurve team
PETALING JAYA: Olympian Marbawi Sulaiman and Nazrin Aizad Mat Nasir helped Malaysia qualify third behind Japan and India in the men’s recurve team event on Friday but both will not be in the squad when the actual competition starts in the opening leg of the Asian Archery Grand Prix in Bangkok tomorrow.
Instead national coach Lee Jae-hyung has opted for youngster Mohd Izzuddin Abdul Rahim to carry the challenge.
Izzuddin, who is from the national back-up squad and was placed fourth in the world junior championships in Mexico last year, was given the third slot and will join his more illustrious team-mates Wan Khalmizam Wan Abdul Aziz and Cheng Chu Sian in a bid to challenge for the team gold medal.
On Friday, the trio had a combined total of 1898 points after the qualifying round.
Nazrin chalked the best effort among the six Malaysian men recurve archers with 649, followed by Izzuddin on 645.
Marbawi shot 642 to finish ahead of three others — Arif Farhan Ibrahim Putra (14th — 637), Chu Sian (22nd — 629) and Khalmizam (24th — 624).
There was not much difference as Malaysia would still be placed third behind Japan (1957) and India (1975) if Nazrin and Marbawi were selected but the Korean coach wants to bank on the more experienced Chu Sian and Khalmizam to hold the fort in the team event.
Malaysian archers have a relatively better chance to hit the bull’s eye in the team competition compared to the individual event as indicated by their quarter-finals placing at the Beijing Olympics and the silver medal feat in the Asian Championships in Xian, China last year.
S. Anbarasi was the best placed Malaysian in the qualification round for the women’s recurve event when she finished sixth on 625 points.
Noor Aziera Taip was 13th on 612, followed by juniors Nur Amirah Mohamed (25th — 583) and Beatrice Wong (26th — 582).
Malaysia will be seeded fifth in the team event with a total qualifying score of 1820.
In the compound category, which is a non-Olympic event, there was a pleasant surprise when Malaysians took the top spots in the men’s and women’s categories after the respective qualifying rounds ended.
Lang Hon Keong was top in the men’s competition with 697 while Saritha Cham Nong led the field of 19 archers with 676.
Malaysia will be seeded top for the men’s team compound ahead of Vietnam with a total of 2,040 points.
The Malaysian women’s team, with a combined total of 1967, will take second spot behind India (1997).
