PETALING JAYA: At 48, when most athletes have long hung up their gear, Malaysian sharpshooter Hasli Izwan Amir Hassan stepped onto the SEA Games firing line for the 11th time.
His career has spanned more than three decades beginning in 1993.
He rose to the world stage at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and decorated himself with two SEA Games gold medals and a silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol event.
He finished 10th after firing 548 points in the preliminary round of the event at the recent Thai Games.
But yet, Hasli is nowhere near done.
In fact, he is already thinking two years ahead.
“I’m trying to qualify for the next SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in 2027,” he said.
“I will give my best.”
This year’s Games mark his return to the regional arena after finishing seventh at the 2022 edition in Hanoi.
“When I got another chance to compete and qualify again, I was grateful,” he says.
“At 48, every opportunity means something.”
Rapid fire pistol has never been a glamorous event in the region according to Hasli, further adding that air pistol and air rifle dominate public attention, funding, and participation.
But Hasli has remained loyal to the most technically demanding discipline in Olympic shooting.
“Rapid fire is one of the toughest events,” he said.
“You need many rounds and plenty of range time to get better. That’s expensive. Pellets for an air pistol are cheap, but bullets are not. That’s why competitiveness in South-East Asia is still low. But in Asia overall, the level is very high - the scores are much higher.”
Even then, Hasli remains undeterred.
Balancing elite sport with a full-time job is difficult enough but Hasli’s dual role adds another layer of complexity.
He currently serves as an assistant sports commissioner, but fate has handed him one priceless advantage.
His office sits directly behind the National Sports Council (NSC) shooting range.
“I just opened the back door of my office and I’m at the training ground,” he says with a laugh.
“I’m very lucky, very fortunate. Hopefully for the next three years, I won’t be transferred. If I stay at this office, I can train regularly. If I get transferred, then I can only train on weekends.”
For an athlete in his late 40s, every minute on the range matters.
Asked how he continues after all these years, Hasli said: “I love shooting. It’s one of my hobbies.”
But passion alone doesn’t produce longevity.
Hasli’s discipline, routine, and sheer enjoyment of the sport have kept him competitive for more than 30 years.
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