PETALING JAYA, Sept 22 — SEA Games 2021 champion Nurul Syasya Nadiah Mohd Arifin again proved to be in a class of her own as she gunned down her fourth gold medal at the 20th Malaysia Games (Sukma) here today.
Having struck gold medals in the women’s 25-metre (m) sports pistol team as well as the 10m air pistol individual and team events, the Johor shooter marked her final Sukma appearance with gold number four by emerging victorious in the 10m air pistol mixed team event with Hazeq Haqeem R. Azmi.
They defeated Sarawak’s Justin Joanes Kelukin-Law Wen Xuen 16-12 in the final at the Subang National Shooting Range in Subang Jaya here.
Nurul Syasya admitted that they lost focus when leading 6-0 and that allowed the Sarawak pair to close the gap to 15-11 before she and Hazeq regained their composure to seal victory by being the first to reach 16 points.
“We did lose focus a bit but we were determined to bring home the gold for Johor. Thankful we managed to bounce back and strike gold.
“Overall, I am happy with my performance here because all the hard work I put in during training paid off,” she said.
The 20-year-old said she would be representing the country at the World Championships in Egypt next month in a bid to earn a ticket to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Aware of the reputation of Nurul Syasya, Hazeq admitted to being quite nervous partnering with her but is grateful that he managed to get his hands on his first Sukma gold medal this time.
“I did not do very well in my previous four events but I was bent on proving something to my coach and family. And that’s exactly what I have done by bagging the gold medal in my final Sukma outing,” he said.
The Federal Territories 2 team of Muhammad Hakimi Zulkifli-Sarah Aneesa Mazwan downed their FT 1 opponents Abdul Haiqal Abdul Aziz-Nur Batrisya Nasuha Mohd Nor 17-9 for the bronze medal.
Meanwhile, the Selangor trio of Haritz Iklil Hessly Hafiz, Muhammad Hafiz Zulkifli and Muhammad Syukri Zulkifli won the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions gold medal with 1,693 points.
Negri Sembilan’s Muhammad Hazim Aqil Azwar, Muhammad Hasief Azrin and Mustaqim Hanif (1,646 pts) took silver while Pahang’s Izzuddin Muhammad Shafri, Muhammad Azril Hakim Nor Azman and Muhammad Fikhri Hafiy Mohd Fazley (1,644 pts) settled for bronze.
Haritz Iklil then added to his gold medal collection when he won the 50m rifle 3 positions event with 437.2 points, followed by Muhammad Hazim Aqil (426.6 pts) and Perak’s Muhammad Aiman Syafiq Zainal Ariffin (415.9 pts). — Bernama
