Gunning for Asiad

Trusted weapon: Nurul Syasya Nadiah made a statement at the Lapua IWK Berlin Championship by winning the women’s 10m air pistol gold medal.

A national record and a gold in Berlin, Syasya is in sizzling form

PETALING JAYA: National pistol shooter Nurul Syasya Nadiah Ariffin was on fire in the back-to-back tournaments this month to position herself in the right range for glory at the Asian Games in Japan in September.

The 23-year-old Nurul made a statement at the Lapua IWK Berlin Championship, which ended on Sunday, by winning the women’s 10m air pistol gold medal with a score of 240.2 points.

She finished ahead of Frenchwomen Mathilde Lamolle (237.4) and Camille Jedrzejewski (218.0).

Just before the international meet, she shattered a nine-year national record in the same event at the Tun Hanif Trophy at the Subang Shooting Range from April 16-19, by amassing a score of 242.2 points.

The mark eclipsed the previous record of 241.2 set by Bibiana Ng Pei Chin in 2017.

Syasya said her progress has been encouraging but still not good enough.

“My performance at the Tun Hanif Trophy showed that I’m progressing well, but I still need to improve my consistency in the qualification rounds,” said the 2022 Hanoi SEA Games gold medallist,

“The issue with consistency is still there but overall, everything is going according to plan,” she added.

Syasya’s next assignment is the World Cup in Munich from June 8–15, as part of her preparation for Asiad from Sept 19-Oct 4 and the World Championships in November, where qualification spots for the Los Angeles Olympic Games will be at stake.

“I expect the Asian Games to be very challenging because the level of competition is extremely high, with many experienced shooters set to make their mark,” said Syasya.

“But I believe in my abilities, and I’m growing in confidence.”

She also credited her recent improvement to a change in equipment.

“The switch to a new weapon has had a positive impact and given me renewed motivation,” she added.