Bi Fadhli ISHAK
MALAYSIA'S sole woman qualifier Nurul Syafiqah Hashim fancies her teammates' chances of joining her at the Olympics in the recurve team event as they prepare a last-gasp attempt to clinch qualification at the World Cup Stage 3 in Ogden, US which starts next week.
"They (teammates) are all much more experienced than me and have proven their ability in the past," said the Indonesia Sea Games silver medallist.
"Coach (Lee Jae-Hyung) has told us that we need a total score of 215 and above to have a good chance of making the cut. We have managed to consistently achieve that score, or just slightly below it, during training.
"All the teams who have qualified (for the Olympics) will not be in the competition, so making the top-three will not be as hard as at other competitions.
"However, teams such as Iran, Iraq, Indonesia and Mongolia are sides that we will have to be wary of if we are to qualify and we cannot afford to be complacent."
Nurul Syafiqah, who clinched qualification for the individual event at the Asian Championships in Teheran last year, added that having the women's team competing together at the Olympics would be a huge confident boost for her.
"I am a little inexperienced when it comes to this level of competition and sometimes my nerves do get to me," she added. "It would be a big help if my teammates were there to guide me at the Games as they are more senior than me and will help me to cope better."
Currently four Malaysians -- Cheng Chu Sian, Khairul Anuar Mohamad, Haziq Kamaruddin together with Nurul Syafiqah -- have qualified for the Olympics.
"Coach (Lee Jae-Hyung) has told us that we need a total score of 215 and above to have a good chance of making the cut. We have managed to consistently achieve that score, or just slightly below it, during training.
"All the teams who have qualified (for the Olympics) will not be in the competition, so making the top-three will not be as hard as at other competitions.
"However, teams such as Iran, Iraq, Indonesia and Mongolia are sides that we will have to be wary of if we are to qualify and we cannot afford to be complacent."
Nurul Syafiqah, who clinched qualification for the individual event at the Asian Championships in Teheran last year, added that having the women's team competing together at the Olympics would be a huge confident boost for her.
"I am a little inexperienced when it comes to this level of competition and sometimes my nerves do get to me," she added. "It would be a big help if my teammates were there to guide me at the Games as they are more senior than me and will help me to cope better."
Currently four Malaysians -- Cheng Chu Sian, Khairul Anuar Mohamad, Haziq Kamaruddin together with Nurul Syafiqah -- have qualified for the Olympics.
Source: http://www.nst.com.my/sports/other/archery-nurul-syafiqah-has-faith-in-teammates-1.93866
