KUALA LUMPUR - The National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM) selection committee will name the sole woman to recurve archer to compete in next month’s Tokyo Olympics by July 5.
National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM) president Datuk Abdul Hamid Hasan, who confirmed that Malaysia had been given a single slot for the women’s recurve event, said that the selection committee would meet and name the archer who will be competing in the Tokyo Olympics by that date.
“We received the slot when a check by World Archery found that some among the 64 qualified archers did not meet the Minimum Qualification Score (MQS) of 605 points for the women’s event. So, World Archery then looked for countries with athletes who had surpassed the MQS but have still not qualified.
“Since we have athletes who have surpassed the score, we earned a slot and we replied to their letter that we will take up the slot offered,” he said.
He said that since Khairul Anuar Mohamad had already qualified for the men’s recurve event, Malaysia would now be able to compete in three events at the Tokyo Olympics - men’s individual, women’s individual and mixed team.
The national women’s recurve trio of Syaqiera Mashayikh, Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil and Nur Ain Ayuni Fozi had failed to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics at the 2020 Olympic Games Qualifying Championships in Paris, France last week.
Based on their results in the qualifying round of the championships, Syaqiera and Nurul Azreena chalked up 619 points each while Nur Ain Ayuni collected 594 points.
The trio then took part in the Archery World Cup Stage 3, also in Paris, which ended on June 27. Based on their result in this tournament, Syaqiera again racked up 619 points, Nur Ain Ayuni 605 points and Nurul Azreena 600 points.
Only two other women archers have featured in the Olympics, namely Mon Redee Sut Txi at the 2004 Athens Olympics and Nurul Syafiqah Hashim at the 2012 London Olympics. - Bernama, 30 June, 2021
