Bubbly Alia to work on her composure ahead of C’wealth Games
KUALA LUMPUR: National shooter Alia Sazana Azahari (pic) was floored by illness after defending her 25m pistol gold at the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games on Aug 22.
But the short break – to recuperate from influenza and fever – has been a blessing in disguise.
It has given her time to evaluate her performances.
She knows now that she needs to improve on her composure during finals to enhance her chances of winning a medal at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, from April 4-15.
“My second SEA Games outing was one of the greatest times I’ve had in my life because I was able to win gold in our own backyard,” said the 25-year-old, who reported for training yesterday.
“But my performance in the finals could’ve been better. I was shaky.
“I’ve got to be stronger. I need to have better focus, consistency and accuracy in finals if I want to win a medal at the next major Games.”
Alia has also promised to work extra hard in training under the guidance of head coach Park Sang-soon of South Korea.
“I’ll be competing in the 25m pistol at the Commonwealth Games. I also need to brush up on my 10m air pistol,” she said.
The bubbly Alia made her debut at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 and surprised everyone to reach the top-eight final in 25m pistol.
She made heads turn by reaching the bronze-medal playoff before losing to Lalita Yauhleuskaya of Australia by just one shot.
“That was a good memory from four years ago. I had just joined the national team then. The format in the finals, however, has changed and I’ve got to focus from start to finish,” she said.