‘No stopping me’
Jafry hopes to shine in archery at Para Games
KUALA LUMPUR: Ahmad Jafry Jamaludin’s dream to become a professional golfer ended abruptly when he became paralysed in a car accident.
It took two years for him to recover which left him unable to move from the waist down.
During his rehabilitation, Jafry contemplated trying his hand at other sports.
In 2015, Jafry met national para archery coach Faizilnizam Ibrahim who told him to give the sport a shot.
Jafry found himself quite adept with the bow and arrow and subsequently took up the recurve event and a year later found himself in the national team.
And he surprised himself when he bagged a silver medal at the World Cup in the Czech Republic in June.
The Pahang-born Jafri was in his element when he nailed the gold medal at the Bangkok World Cup in March this year.
The 32-year-old Jafry, who will be making his debut in the Asean Para Games from Sept 17-23, is fired up to perform in his own backyard.
“The win in Bangkok this year has given me a tremendous boost.
“I have been training hard ever since and to cap it with a gold medal will be memorable,” said Jafry, who started playing golf at the age of seven.
He played in local circuits and everything was going fine until the crash in 2011. Jafry was even sponsored by Pahang to train and study in Gold Coast, Australia in 2004 where he obtained his sports development degree.
A total of six golds are up for grabs in Para archery and Malaysia have set a target of three golds.
The competition will be held at the National Sports Council Complex in Bukit Jalil.