KAJANG: Composure under pressure was the key to Johor's double success in the men and women's team recurve finals at the Malaysia Games (Sukma) on Saturday (Aug 22).
Mohd Akid Bazli Ezaidin, Mohd Danish Amsyar Norzalan and Wan Qayyim Syahmi Wan Mahathir finally landed the men’s team gold in their third attempt by edging Pahang 6-2 in a tense final at the National Institute of Valuation (Inspen) Stadium.
In the women’s showdown, Nur Ayra Mahirah Rosihan Anwar, Nawal Buthainah Daing Mohd Azmi and Nurin Iman Mohd Sham stunned Kedah 6-2 for Johor's first gold in the competition.
For Akid, the win was a breakthrough six years in the making for the trio, who have competed together since the 2022 edition.
They bowed out early that year, before finishing third in Sarawak in 2024.
This time, they got the better of a fancied Pahang side featuring qualifying gold medallist and individual bronze winner Mohd Haiqal Danish Syamsul Affandi.
"This gold medal ends a six-year wait for us. From the opening round straight to the final, every archer stepped up with total confidence, and we take immense pride in bringing this home," said Akid.
"When you’re dealing with hostile crowds and stressful moments, it comes down to controlling your breath.
''We kept reminding each other to stay dialled in," he said, adding that they paid little attention to their opponents’ demeanour.
"We didn't waste energy worrying about their mindset – we stayed inside our bubble and executed our standard routine."
Ayra credited the coaching staff for keeping them calm and spirited despite the wobbles, and teammate Nawal for steadying their scoring with 10s and nines under pressure.
"This victory is extremely important to us because Johor had yet to win a gold in the women's team event. We were jumping and celebrating with our coach after the final," she said.
"We only started as a team this year. We were one of the groups that wasn’t targeted to win gold."
RESULTS
Recurve
MEN
Gold medal match: Johor (Mohd Akid Bazli Ezaidin, Mohd Danish Amsyar Norzalan and Wan Qayyim Syahmi Wan Mahathir) bt Pahang (Ikmal Dzariff Azizi, Mohd Amirul Haziq Mohd Rashiddin and Mohd Haiqal Danish Syamsul Affandi) 6-2 (52-51, 54-55, 55-52 and 54-49).
Bronze-medal match: Sarawak (Darren Chua Huay Zhe, Pok Hoe En and Melvin Tieh Xuan Ray) bt Sabah (Aidan Chaw Zheng Zhe, Evan Rich Chong Qi Wei and Quik Chern Xin) 6-2 (53-52, 57-54, 48-53 and 50-49).
WOMEN
Gold medal match: Johor (Nawal Buthainah Daing Mohd Azmi, Nur Ayra Mahirah Rosihan Anwar and Nurin Iman Mohd Sham) bt Kedah (Ku Nurin Afiqah Ku Ruzaini, Nur Auni Aqilah Andri and Nur Auni Firdina Wafiqah Nor Azlan) 6-2 (47-49, 53-49, 48-47 and 50-47).
Bronze-medal match: Federal Territories (Alia Qursyiah Mazlan, Arlia Nur Falisha Mohd Zairi and Jeslynn Kaur) bt Kelantan (Emira Dania Sokhibul Fadhirul, Maryam Amani Mokhridzal Alfie and Nik Damia Irdina Nik Khairul Azim) 6-0 (53-51, 53-49 and 52-47).
MIXED
Gold medal match: Selangor (Mohd Rizq Arif Khairul Nezam and Nur Ieka Hariesya Zainal Habsahli) bt Penang (Ammar Muhaimin Md Suhaidi and M. Khiritigaa) 6-0 (38-35, 36-30 and 37-32).
Bronze-medal match: Federal Territories (Shazremil Hariz Ahmad Hariz and Jeslynn Kaur) bt Terengganu (Mohd Ammar Hadif Mohd Azlan and Nurul Syazwi Liyana Mahari) 5-1 (35-33, 36-36 and 37-35).
