KUCHING: Sarawak shooters are gunning for a better result in the 20th Sukma in Johor next year from March 6 to 14.<\/p>\n
At the last Sukma in Perak two years ago, they returned with two gold and four bronze medals.<\/p>\n
The golds were won by Lim Yee Qi in the women\u2019s 50m rifle prone individual and the trio of Lim, Evellyn Jihon and Siti Nur Aisyah Mazlan in the women\u2019s 50m rifle prone team event.<\/p>\n
Sarawak head coach Karen Leong Wai Si expressed confidence that her charges would be able to achieve the target of three gold, one silver and five bronze medals in Johor.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am quite confident that our shooters can improve on the previous Sukma achievement and this is based on the analysis and their performance during training and in-house monthly competition,\u201d Karen told thesundaypost when met at the Sarawak Shooting Range in Petra Jaya yesterday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are getting better and better. At last year\u2019s National Junior Championship Series 1 in Kuala Lumpur in January, they bagged silver medals and in National Junior Championship Series 2 also in Kuala Lumpur in March, they managed to strike gold. Their best showing was in the Tun Hanif Omar Trophy in Kuching in September where they captured five golds,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
According to Karen, training sessions are carried out daily with the morning session from 8am to 11am and afternoon session from 1pm to 4pm.<\/p>\n
In Johor Sukma shooting event, 26 gold medals are up for grabs, with 12 in the individual events and 14 team events.<\/p>\n
What makes the competition more interesting next year is that it will feature two new events, the mixed team 10m Air Pistol and mixed team 10m Air Rifle.<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the points scoring is based on electronic scoring where it is more accurate, fair and transparent and there will be less protests on the results.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be entering all events and hopefully have a good harvest of medals. Our main rivals are shooting powerhouse Pahang, Perak, Selangor and Johor.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are holding monthly competitions to compensate for the lack of exposure as the national and international competitions are either cancelled or postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic,\u201d added Karen.<\/p>\n
The 2004 Asian Shooting Championship women\u2019s team 10m Air Pistol gold medalist said Siti Nur Aisyah Mazlan will partner Daphenie Adrienne Steven and Selina Sim Shu Siang to defend the women\u2019s 50m rifle prone team title.<\/p>\n
Other members of the women\u2019s team include Arsheilda Hanggi Auther Hardy, Law Wen Xuen, Siti Nur Zulaikha Mohd Zulkifli, Stephanie Sim Shu Ming and Delphine Chung Qi.<\/p>\n
Making up the men\u2019s team are Abdul Syafir Nur Rais Abdul Raup, Justin Joannes Kelukin, Lim Hong Yang, Radzinski Mathew, Joseph Chai, Mujahid Ahmad, Ryan Chong Kai Boon, Shariff Putra Haikal Sharie Albane, Mohd Haziq Fadhil Khalid Fauzan and Muhammad Nur Zilfiqar Mohd Zulkifli.<\/p>\n
The team is managed by Sarawak Shooting Association treasurer Neil Michael Parker while Ahmad Anai is the assistant coach.<\/p>\n