Para Sukma: archer Nur Jannaton owes meteoric rise to Facebook

KUALA LUMPUR – Archer Nur Jannaton Abdul Jalil became the first gold medallist at the 2022 Para Malaysia Games (Para Sukma) here today, and it is all thanks to Facebook.

The one-metre-tall Perak archer, who has been dabbling in archery since 2018 and who came out tops in the women’s Open compound event at the National Sports Council (NSC) Turf in Bukit Jalil, said she only learned about archery from a community website on Facebook for persons with disabilities (PwD).

“From the time I was in school until I went to university, I never had a friend from the PwD group.

“But, one day, an acquaintance told me to join the PwD group on Facebook and that was when I saw someone promoting the sport of archery.

“I then attended a gathering organised by the group to know more about the sport and that’s how it all began,” she told reporters.

The medical physics graduate from Universiti Sains Malaysia said she then represented Perak and helped the state win gold in the women’s doubles compound event at the 2018 Para Sukma before being offered a chance to join the NSC training programme in early 2019.

The 27-year-old, who also won gold at the 11th Asean Para Games in Solo, Indonesia this year, hopes to be able to qualify on merit for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, France.

In today’s competition, Nur Jannaton accrued 637 points to win the women’s Open compound event while Penangites Nazirah Md Noor (590 points) and Nor Sa’adah Abdul Wahab (571 points) settled for silver and bronze respectively.

Meanwhile, another national archer G. Daneshen, of Kedah, lived up to expectations when he bagged the men’s Open compound gold medal with 694 points, leaving teammate Azrul Abd Rashid (653 points) to take silver and Sabah’s Ramdi Rahimin (652 points) the bronze.

Daneshen, who has been suffering from leg nerve problems since birth due to polio, dedicated his gold medal to his father, R. Govinda, 51, who has been toiling for so long for the family.

“My father used to be a lorry driver. I know how tiring it is for him to work, day and night, and that’s why I advised him to quit and let me and my siblings help out the family,” said Daneshen, who is the youngest of three siblings.

The 25-year-old Daneshen also hopes to be able to qualify for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, in addition to focusing on his preparations for next year's Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China. – Bernama, November 2, 2022