Archer Ikram gets the boot, Zharif moves in for KL Games recurve squad

PETALING JAYA: Archer Muhd Ikram Joni has paid the price for his lacklustre performance this season.

The 21-year-old will not defend his SEA Games gold medal in the men’s team recurve after being dropped from the KL Games squad by the National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM) yesterday.

Instead, Zharif Syahir, a double gold medallist at the South-East Asian Championships in Myanmar in January, makes up the fourman team, comprising the Rio Olympics trio of Khairul Anuar Mohamed, Haziq

Kamaruddin and Muhd Akmal Nor Hasrin.

The Kelantan-born Ikram has failed to impress in any of the four tournaments he took part in. And that, according to NAAM honorary-secretary Datuk Abdul Hamid Hassan, left them with no option but to drop him.

“We had given Ikram ample time to buck up but he flopped yet again at the World Cup third leg in Salt Lake City, the United States, last week,” said Hamid.

“That was the last straw for head coach Lee Jae-hyung, who wanted him to be replaced by Zharif.

“Although he’s new, Zharif did well in his only international outing in Myanmar early this year. He also shoots better scores than Ikram in training – averaging 660 points.

There were no other surprises as NAAM submitted their final 16-member team list to the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) yesterday.

Triple gold medallist Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh and Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki will lead the women and men’s charge in the compound discipline while the Nur Aliya Ghapar-led women’s recurve side will be eager to impress after finishing fourth in the season- opening World Cup round in Shanghai in April.

Malaysia won five gold medals in the Singapore Games two years ago, with four coming from the compound archers.

NAAM have set a four-gold target this time.