BARCELONA: Malaysia again settled for the silver medal at the Archery World Cup after the men’s recurve archery trio of Khairul Anuar Mohamad, Atiq Bazil Bakri and Haziq Kamauruddin fell 203-209 in the final to Mexico in the third leg at Medellin, Colombia on Sunday.
The trio have only themselves to blame for getting off to a poor start. They suffered in the first two ends, scoring only 49 and 48, thus allowing their rivals Juan Rene Serrano, Luis Eduardo Velez and Luis Alvarez, to take a comfortable 106-97 lead at the halfway mark.
The Mexicans, who were seeking their first ever title in World Cup, then kept the nine-point lead heading into the last six arrows.
Reigning Asian champion Khairul fared better in the second half but the damage was already done.
They managed to pull back three points but eventually conceded defeat at 203-209 in the fourth end.
Both teams were desperate to land their first gold medal as silver was the best they achieved before this.
Malaysia have qualified for three finals before – in Antalya, Turkey and Boe, France in 2008 and in Shanghai in 2011 but all ended in disappointments.
Mexico also got the better of Malaysia in the first round at the London Olympics last year.
Head coach Lee Jae-hyung will not be pleased with the tame defeat but he can look at the positive side of the team’s performance in this tournament.
“It is a big improvement compared to the first two stages in Shanghai and Antalya. The team made it to quarter-finals in Shanghai but were eliminated in the first round in Antalya last month. This should put the team in good stead as they get ready for the World Archery Championships in Antalya in October,” said Jae-hyung.
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