No medal, but Suryani and Co still have plenty left in the tank

PETALING JAYA: Veteran shooter Nur Suryani Taibi may have missed out on a medal at the Asian Rifle-Pistol Shooting Championships, but she showed she still has plenty left in the tank.

The Olympian posted a strong score of 580 in the women’s 50m rifle three positions qualifying round, underlining her consistency at the top level.

Malaysia’s other representatives - Hasli Izwan Hasan, Ridhuan Mohamed and Hafiz Adzha - also failed to reach the podium in the tournament, which concluded on Saturday.

National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) secretary Jasni Shaari said the overall results did not fully reflect the team’s performances.

“For me, Suryani is still performing well in her event. She scored 580, just slightly below the others, with only eight shooters advancing to the final,” said Jasni.

Jasni though expressed some disappointment over issues beyond the shooters’ control, such as weapon malfunctions experienced by Hasli and Ridhuan.”

“If a weapon malfunctions more than twice, the shooter cannot continue in the competition, so it inevitably affected their focus.

“However, I saw that all three men performed well in the team events, and this also serves as early preparation for next year’s SEA Games,” added Jasni.

The trio finished fourth in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team event with a total of 1,660 points.

The gold went to Kazakhstan with 1,737 points, followed by India with 1,708 points, while Vietnam took bronze with 1,707 points.

In the individual event, however, their positions were slightly lower. Hasli ended the qualification round in 12th place with 279 points, Hafiz in 17th with 275 points, and Ridhuan just one spot below Hafiz, trailing by a single point.