Compound archer Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki.
PETALING JAYA: National compound archer Juwaidi Mazuki will head to Thailand for the SEA Games with much spring in his step.
After almost a decade of trying, the 35-year-old compound archer will be savouring his first ever Asian Championships medal after winning bronze in the men's individual event in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
Juwaidi showed nerves of steel to overcome South Korea's world No. 17 Kim Jong-ho 148-147 in the bronze medal playoff.
Juwaidi, currently ranked 44th, needed to draw on his experience to get the better of Jong-ho, a three-time World Championships team gold medallist and three-time World University Games champion.
And there was no better way than to match the Korean's accuracy.
It was nothing short of a breathtaking effort as Juwaidi managed to hit 13 out of a possible 15 bullseyes to win the contest 30-28, 30-30, 29-29, 30-30, 29-30 to stand on his first Asian Championships podium and deny the Koreans a clean sweep of the individual compound podium.
Juwaidi is a multiple SEA Games gold medallist and two-time Asian Games bronze winner but has yet to win a medal on the Asian Championships stage until yesterday.
Juwaidi had earlier lost an agonising semi-final contest against another South Korean Choi Yong-hee 144-146 in the semi-final.
Another South Korean Lee Eun-ho picked up the gold medal after beating compatriot Yong-hee 146-143 in the final.
Melaka-born Juwaidi will now head to the SEA Games in Bangkok next month where he is hoping to repeat the form that saw him clinch two golds (men's individual and mixed team with Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh) and one silver (men's team) the last time the sport was contested in Vietnam in 2022.
The Malaysian archery team will return from Dhaka with two bronze medals.
On Tuesday, the women's recurve team of Ku Nurin Afiqah Ku Ruzaini, Ariana Nur Diana Zairi and Joey Tan had won the bronze medal.
