Paralympics: Chance To Better Personnal Records - Marzuki

NILAI, Aug 16 (Bernama) -- The three national archers are expected to break their personal records at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

National archery squad head coach, Marzuki Zakaria, said this was to prevent his men from feeling pressured at the competition to be held in Invalides if he puts a higher target for them.

"Archers are also reminded not to think about who their opponents will be because they just have to battle with themselves.

"So, just follow the flow and fight yourself. Since each has a personal best, try to at least break one’s own record," he told reporters during the visit of the chef de mission of Malaysian contingent to 2024 Paralympic Games, Datuk R Subramaniam to the archery squad training centre here today.

The national archery camp in Paris 2024 will be represented by former 2019 world champion S. Suresh who will compete in the men's recurve event and will be accompanied by two other athletes who made their debut on the Paralympic stage through the compound event, G. Daneshen (men’s) and Nur Jannaton Abd Jalil (women’s).

Suresh, who made his debut in the last edition in Tokyo 2020, was eliminated early after losing to Russian Paralympic Committee representative Bato Tsydendorzhiev, 2-6, in the 1/16 elimination stage.

Marzuki said his side also put a lot of emphasis on how to control athletes' emotions so that they are not nervous when facing the best archers from other countries at the Paralympic Games this time.

Although he described the competition for recurve and compound as quite open, he believes that it is not impossible that the country's archers can give their best shots if they manage to ease the pressure on the day of the competition.

In the meantime, national compound squad coach, Mohd Hakhiki Mohd Kamro said he has arranged a training session with normal archers here.

He said that the training collaboration with normal archers was done to test the level of ability and readiness of his men to face better archers in Paris later.

"My principle is, if an archer meets a better opponent, he will shoot better," he said.

The 2024 Paralympic Games will take place from August 28 to September 8.

-- BERNAMA