Compounding issue
Fatin: Lack of overseas competitions will hamper our chances
PETALING JAYA: Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh admits the weight of expectation is making life difficult for the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games-bound compound archers.
The 25-year-old bagged three golds as she led Malaysia to an impressive four-gold haul at the last Games in Singapore two years ago.
Of the five events, Malaysia emerged champions in the women’s individual, women’s team, men’s team and mixed team.
Malaysia missed out on a clean sweep after Zulfadhli Ruslan lost the men’s individual final to Vietnam’s Nguyen Tien Cuong.
In contrast, Malaysia could only manage one gold in recurve through the men’s team.
At the KL Games from Aug 19-30, Malaysia are counting on Fatin and Co to deliver once more. They have been set a three-gold target.
“We are already feeling the pressure despite the Games being three months away,” said Fatin.
Our SEA Games rivals – the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam – are sending their teams to the other World Cup legs for exposure. It’s frustrating that your rivals are getting the best preparationsp but we’re not.
Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh
To add to their woes is the lack of international competitions. To date, they only competed in the Asia Cup Stage 2 in Bangkok in March and the World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai, China, two weeks ago.
And their next assignment is the Asia Cup Stage 3 in Taiwan from July 4-9.
“We have been told that there’s no budget to send us to the other World Cup events,” Fatin lamented.
“Our SEA Games rivals – the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam – are sending their teams to the other World Cup legs for exposure. It’s frustrating that your rivals are getting the best preparations but we’re not.
“It’s a tall order to win three golds when you’re not as well prepared. There’s a lot of pressure on us,” she added.
Fatin said that their recurve counterparts should be given the three-gold target instead.
The recurve team have been given only a one-gold target. They will be sent to compete in the next two World Cup series in Antalya, Turkey (June 6-11) and Salt Lake City, the United States (June 20-25).
“The recurve team get better support. Besides going for all the World Cup legs, they will also be training in South Korea prior to the Games,” said Fatin, a team gold medallist at the 2015 Shanghai World Cup.