Heads in unison (SEPTEMBER 17 - 23)
Archery trio united by their mental fortitude
MEJAR Yuhaizam Yahaya, Mohd Zafi Rahman Mat Saleh and K. Morogen are the three stalwarts of the national compound archery team.
The trio will be out to keep Malaysia’s good showing in the men’s individual and mixed team ARW2 events at the Asean Para Games archery competition starting today at the National Archery Range in Bukit Jalil.
“All of them are wheelchair-bound and have experienced different challenges but they are united by one common goal – to show mental fortitude at the archery range,” said national compound coach Tan Peng Loon.
The 46-year-old Yuhaizam from the Royal Malaysian Air Force is a survivor from a helicopter crash in 2004 and suffered from a spinal injury.
Zafi, 38, also suffered a spinal injury from a road accident while timber lorry driver Morogen, 40, had both his legs amputated due to a crash.
“All these incidents had made them tough. In archery, mental toughness is the key and I believe all our archers are strong,” said Peng Loon.
He added that there were other challenges but the archers handled them without making a big fuss.
“They get sick easily due to their conditions. They tend to pick up infections.
“Sometimes a simple thing like going to the toilet is hard and takes a long time,” he said.
“Despite all this, they’ve trained hard six days a week and six hours a day, week after week. They don’t see themselves as disabled.
“In fact, they work doubly hard. They’re a tough lot,” added Peng Loon, a former Sukma (Malaysia Games) coach for Kuala Lumpur.
The others in his team are women archers Nor Saadah Abdul Wahab and Lidwina Isedor Andlah.
Yuhaizam is the men’s individual defending champion. He also teamed up with Zafi, Azrul Abdul Rashid and Saadah to bag a silver in the mixed event at the 2015 Singapore Games.
Malaysia finished third overall with a 1-2-1 haul in Singapore. Thailand were the overall champions with 3-2-1 and Singapore came in second (2-0-0).