SOLO (Indonesia), July 31 — Malaysia’s archery squad started the 11th Asean Para Games (APG) on the right footing when two men’s recurve athletes registered their personal bests in the qualifying round today.

S. Suresh topped the qualifying round at Kota Barat Stadium with a score of 635 points, one better than his personal record set when winning the 2019 world title in the Netherlands.

This enabled him to see off the challenge of Phuket Asian Para Archery Championships 2022 champion Hanreuchai Netsiri of Thailand, who finished second with 624 points, followed by Indonesia’s Kholidin in third place (619).

Another Malaysian archer, Nurfaizal Hamzah, who was making his international debut, collected 543 points to beat his personal best of 526 points and finish in 10th place.

Suresh’s success today gave him a bye in the 1/8 round tomorrow, and he will next meet the winner of an all-Filipino clash between Giovanni Ola and William Cablog in the quarter-finals.

"Here I just focus on myself and treat it like training, without thinking about the results of other competitors. Yes, I feel I have regained my best momentum.

"I do not know what challenge tomorrow holds; I didn’t want to see the schedule. I’m fully focused on my own preparations for this APG,” said the 28-year-old archer.

Nurfaizal, 32, has a rough road ahead, as he will meet Indonesia’s Sadikin (565), who finished seventh, and if he wins, will likely take on Hanreuchai in the quarter-finals.

"In the beginning, I was a bit nervous and panicky because this is the first time. But Alhamdulillah I managed to catch up with the help of my coaches. There is a lot of room for improvement in terms of preparations and technique. I hope to do better after this,” said Nurfaizal, who joined the national squad only last month.

The administrative assistant at the Police Training Centre in Jalan Semarak, Kuala Lumpur lost both his legs after he was hit by a car while riding a motorcycle in 2016. — Bernama