The men’s team of Cheng Chu Sian, Wan Khalmizam Wan Abdul Aziz and Izzuddin lost 213-221 to the Brady Ellison-led United States in the first round of the team event.
It was one of their worst defeats in the World Cup series this year.
National chief coach Lee Jae-hyung said Izzuddin was unable to complement the team during the shoot-out.“Young Izzudin had just completed his college examination prior to this tournament and did not spend much time in training.“His lack of practice was evident in his performance today,” said Jae-hyung in a telephone interview yesterday.
The coach said that Malaysia needed to find a solid third archer.“I was pleased with the performances of Cheng and Wan. Both showed marked improvement here. But we are still looking for one more stable archer for the team.”
The more experienced Mohd Marbawi Sulaiman was also inconsistent in the competition and failed to get through the qualification round.The Korean coach is looking for a better showing from the men in the fourth-leg of the World Cup in Turkey from June 2-7.“By then Izzuddin would have had more time to polish up his game in training. I am sure the men’s team will achieve better results in turkey,” he said.
At the World Cup series in Turkey last year, Malaysia created history when the trio of Chu Sian, Khalmizam and Marbawi won a silver medal. It was also a sad day for the Malaysian women’s recurve team when S. Anbarasi, Nur Amirah Mohd and Noor Aziera Taip fell 198-210 to France in the first round.
The Malaysian team will now head for South Korea for a two-week training stint in Seoul before making their way to Turkey.
