Ariana: ‘Anything is possible’ in Paris for women recurve archers

Mission accomplished: Nurul Azreena Mohd Fazil (left), Syaqiera Mashayikh and Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi (right) celebrating after sealing the Paris Olympic ticket for women’s team recurve event.

KUALA LUMPUR: The sky’s the limit for Malaysian women recurve archers Ariana Nur Dania Mohd Zairi, Nurul Azreena Mohd Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh as they aim to steal the thunder in the Paris Olympics end of this month.

Eye-opening performances in Antalya, Turkiye, recently have encouraged the trio to approach the Paris Games with more confidence and self-belief.

The trio made history in the final Olympic qualifier in Antalya last month by securing a place in the women’s team recurve event for the first time.

A place in Paris was confirmed after they reached the semi-finals but the women archers went a step better by beating Britain 5-3 before going down 4-5 to top ranked China in the final.

The adventure did not end there as the trio made heads turn by stunning mighty China 5-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s team recurve event in the final round of the Archery World Cup in Antalya last week. The trio were eliminated 2-6 by eventual runners-up France but made their point nevertheless.

“I think the biggest lesson we gained from Turkiye was that anything is possible after this if we can get our act together,” said the 19-year-old Ariana.

“It’s not easy to beat China as they are considered on the same level as South Korea now.

“China have not lost on the international stage so far this year and we managed to beat them, so it gives us more confidence to face anybody.

“In archery, we should not be worried about our competitors as we only focus on our own performance.

“I am my biggest motivator,” said Ariana, who also did well to reach the quarter-finals in the women’s individual recurve in the World Cup meet in Antalya. Ariana, the nation’s current national No. 1, is looking forward to honing her skills further when she leave this week for the final Olympic training camp in South Korea.

“I requested earlier for the trip as I want to learn from the best. I still lack international exposure and it’s good to get the best preparation as we are going for our biggest assignment in Paris.”