PETALING JAYA: Pahang pistol head coach Elena Sotnik believes Cheah Zen Hong has the potential to go far in the sport and qualify for the Olympic Games in the future.
The 20-year-old was at the heart of Pahang’s dominance at Sukma after winning nine of the state’s 14 gold medals in shooting.
The Kuantan-born shooter also rewrote the Games records in the men’s 10m air pistol and 25m sport pistol individual events.
Having coached Zen Hong since he was 13, Sotnik knows the youngster well and believes he has the right qualities to step up to a higher level.
"Zen Hong has a lot of potential. He is mentally strong, he can stay focused and he listens to instructions very well," said Sotnik.
"I think he is a strong athlete and he should be given more attention because the pistol events he competes in are also contested at the Olympics.
"He is still young, so there is still a lot of time to prepare him if we want to take him towards the Olympics.
"He can do what the coaches ask of him and he does not let his mind wander during competition. Most importantly, he is very disciplined."
Zen Hong’s journey in shooting only began after he decided to give up golf, a sport in which he had also represented Pahang.
He picked up shooting at the age of 12 and has not looked back since, going on to enjoy success at national level before becoming the youngest member of the Malaysian shooting squad at last year’s SEA Games in Thailand at 19.
Zen Hong was not the only reason for Sotnik to smile as Pahang also enjoyed another dominant outing in shooting at Sukma.
The state had initially targeted nine gold medals, including five from pistol, but went on to finish with 14.
Ten of those gold medals came from the pistol events.
Pahang’s success in Selangor also saw them remain the overall shooting champions for the ninth consecutive Sukma since 2008.
Sotnik admitted the haul was beyond what she had expected, especially with her shooters heading into Sukma without competing in any tournaments this year.
Their campaign also did not get off to the smoothest of starts after they had to deal with a pistol malfunction on the opening day of competition on Aug 17.
"I’m very happy and all the credit goes to my athletes because they not only won gold medals, but some of them also broke Games records."
