PETALING JAYA: If there is one person in the shooting range who is happy with the postponement of the Asian Games, it is none other than old-timer Mohd Ezuan Nasir Khan.
The rifle shooter, who won the silver at the 2018 Asian Games, is buying time to have a better preparation and the deferment has indeed turned out to be the biggest blessing for him.
The 33-year-old had only three months to prepare for the Vietnam SEA Games in May and it saw him struggling to shoot a decent score. He finished seventh in the men’s 10m air rifle event.
The Asian Games was supposed to be held in Hangzhou in September this year but it has been moved to 2023 to a date which will be announced later.
“I know many have prepared but I was glad when the Asiad was moved to next year. I’m determined to qualify for the next Asian Games and try to be a medal winner again,” said Ezuan, who has represented the country for 14 years.
“I was quite rusty at the SEA Games because of the short preparation.
“Now, I have a longer time to improve myself and hopefully, I will get to warm up by taking part in several international tournaments this year.”
He will participate in the Asian Airgun championship in Daegu, South Korea, from Nov 9-19 and also the South East Asia Shooting (Seasa) championships in Bangkok in December.
“I need to polish up my shooting skills and the competitions are the best way to improve.”
Ezuan had been based at the Navy base in Lumut since his name was removed from the national team list in 2020 but due to his hard work and diligence, he was selected to represent Malaysia at the Vietnam Games.
He is back in Kuala Lumpur now, and has a chance to be called up for national duty again after his fine form in a recent local tournament.
Ezuan did well to win a silver medal in the 10m air rifle event in the Selangor Shooting Championships at the Subang Shooting Range last month and also shot a gold in the mixed doubles with Nur Suryani Taibi.
“I’ve been shooting together with Suryani in the mixed since the 2019 Philippines Games. Our combination is getting better and somehow, we are a good fit as both of us are quite experienced,” he said.
“I will continue to focus on these two events, my individual and mixed.”
He has competed in every SEA Games since the 2011 edition in Indonesia but his most memorable is winning the 50m rifle prone gold at the Kuala Lumpur Games in 2017.
