Para archer Wiro so happy to renew ties with his bow

PETALING JAYA: National para archer Wiro Julin is in a rush to make up for the lost time after joining the Road To Tokyo (RTT) quarantined training at the Bukit Jalil Sports Complex.

The Sarawakian is among 142 athletes, sports officials and support staff from National Sports Council (NSC) and National Sports Institute (NSI) who reported for the training camp on June 8.

Wiro said he was glad to finally get his hands on his recurve bow following the movement control order (MCO) which forced him to be confined to his home in Padawan, Sarawak, for three months.

“For three months, I didn’t get to hold my bow and I missed it so much, so this week I have been getting reacquainted with my bow with close-range training.

“I’m really happy to be back to full training after so long, ” said the 25-year-old.

“We have been training twice a day at the archery range like we used to.

“Luckily, I am not too rusty but I still need to get the feel of the bow again because for three months I have only been training with a rubber band at home.”

“I still continue with the rubber band training in my room after the training sessions... the imaginary training helps with my posture and stance but shooting with bow and arrow is crucial to get the real shooting feel.”

Wiro, a newcomer to the national para archery compound team, won the gold medal in the men’s team, silver in the men’s individual and bronze in the mixed event at the Asian Para Archery Championships in Bangkok last October.

It was his silver medal which earned him a berth in the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics, along with recurve para world champion S. Suresh.

He added that the lack of competitions both locally and internationally due to the pandemic was a problem in his preparations for the Tokyo Paralympics.

“Qualifying for the Games in just my first international assignment last year came as a huge relief for me.

“I don’t have to think about qualifying any more, especially with the current pandemic situation, ” said Wiro.

“However, I still have to train hard because they are so many athletes chasing up and there are about 400 days to go before the Paralympics.

“The 400 days will be gone in a blink, so I need to be on top of my game.”