Perfect day for Saritha

SARITHA Cham Nong saved her best for last as her unerring accuracy under pressure sealed the Sea Games women’s team compound gold medal for Malaysia in Bukit Jalil yesterday.

With the final against Vietnam forced into a shoot-off after ending in a 225-225 tie, it was left to Saritha as Malaysia’s final shooter to secure the win.

Saritha did not disappoint as she fired a 10, her only perfect score in nine attempts in the match, to clinch the shoot-off 2827 at the Synthetic Turf Field.

“I didn’t expect to shoot a 10 because I had struggled all through the match and this was my first 10 in the final,” said Saritha, who could have settled matters in the fourth end without a need for a shoot-off had she done better than an eight.

“So I’m grateful I was able to contribute to the victory. I just followed the coach’s instructions and had the support of teammates.

“I tried to focus hard on getting a 10. It’s just that I didn’t have much luck during the final until the end.”

Saritha and Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh were also part of the trio which won the team gold in Singapore two years ago and they were joined on the podium by Sea Games rookie Nurul Syazhera Asmi.

“I’m happy to win gold in my first Sea Games and everything we worked on in training was worth it,” said Syazhera.

As the top seeds, Malaysia had a bye to the semi-finals where they defeated Thailand 227-219 while Vietnam ousted Indonesia 228-221.

Saritha, who lost in the quarter-finals of the individual competition to Fatin, added that she was grateful for the consistency of her teammates with Fatin alone shooting five 10s.

“I feel touched with the support from my teammates and everybody else even though I’m not the strongest archer in the team,” said Saritha.

“I apologise for the mistake I made at the end of (the fourth end) but I’m happy we recovered to win in the shootoff. I thank my teammates for hanging in there until we won gold.”

Indonesia defeated Thailand 225-222 in the bronze medal playoff. Devinder Singh