Elated: FT archer Arlia Nur Falisha Mohd Zairi smiles after beating teammate Jeslynn Kaur Rajinder Singh 6-4 in the individual recurve gold medal match. — Bernama
HER sister is an Olympian, but Arlia Nur Falisha Mohamad Zairi wants to be the better archer one day.
Arlia is on the right track to compete with older sister Ariana Nur Dania after she won gold in the girl’s individual recurve event yesterday at the Malaysia Games (Sukma).
The 16-year-old from the Federal Territories defeated teammate Jeslynn Kaur Rajinder Singh 6-4 in the gold medal match, drawing inspiration from her sister’s recent appearance at the Paris Olympics.
“When I picked up archery, I could not compete with my sister and always lost to her.
“Hopefully, one day I can take the fight to her and be better than her although she is already an Olympian. She is my inspiration,” she said.
The third child out of four siblings, Arlia had the support of her sister and mother when competing in Kuching for Sukma.
The bronze medal went to Johor’s Nurin Iman Mohamed Sham, who won in the shoot-off against Terengganu’s Nurul Izzah Mazlan.
Meanwhile, the Sarawak boy’s recurve team won the gold medal despite only having a month to train together before Sukma.
The strenuous training routine proved worthwhile for Isaac Ting, Liew Yu Jie, and Melvin Tieh when they defeated Pahang’s A’zat Faris Fathullah Azrul, Amirul Haziq Mohd Rashiddin, and Haiqal Danish Syamsul Affandi 5-1. Melvin said competing on home ground was a special treat for the team.
“This is the first time we have won a medal in Sukma, and we gave it our all. It was 100% in training and during the match as well,” he said.
Yu Jie said other aspects of their routine had helped too.
“We wanted to do well here very badly. We put a lot of focus into our diet and breathing because being calm is key when shooting. The short duration to train meant we practised together almost on a daily basis,” said the 18-year-old.
The bronze medal was taken by Johor’s Mohd Akid Bazli Eazidan, Danish Amsyar Norazlan, and Wan Qayyim Syahmi Wan Mahathir after they won 5-3 against the Federal Territories’ Alif Danish Kamal Ariffin, Aqeell Huzairee Fitree Ahmad Fitri, and Shazremil Hariz Ahmad Hafiz.
RESULTS
Recurve
Boys individual
Final: Haiqal Danish Syamsul Affandi (Pah) bt Ahmad Razin Azahar (Sel) 6-2
Bronze medal match: Saiful Islam Mohd Rizuwan (Ter) bt Akid Bazli Ezaidin (Joh) 6-4
Team final: Sarawak bt Pahang 5-1
Bronze medal match: Johor bt Federal Territories 5-3
Girls
Individual final: Arlia Nur Falisha Mohamad Zairi (FT) bt Jeslynn Kaur Rajinder Singh (FT) 6-4
Bronze medal match: Nurin Iman Mohamed Sham (Joh) bt Nurul Izzah Mazlan (Ter) in shoot-off
Team final: Kedah bt Selangor 5-1
Bronze medal match: Perak bt Johor in shootoff.
