Khairul out to capture gold in absence of South Koreans
PETALING JAYA: A rejuvenated Khairul Anuar Mohamad is hoping to capitalise on the absence of South Korean archers to capture his first World Cup gold.
And the 26-year-old showed his intent by getting off to a best possible start in the third leg of the world series when he shot a season-best 675 (out of a possible 720) to top the individual ranking round in Salt Lake City, the United States on Wednesday. Muhd Akmal Nor Hasrin and Haziq Kamaruddin also hit top form as they posted 649 and 645 respectively to qualify for the elimination rounds as the 13th and 20th best finishers.
Khairul, Akmal and Haziq’s combined efforts saw them finish first in the team standings with a total score of 1,969 — 14 ahead of second-placed United States.
Malaysia were the bronze medallists in Salt Lake City last year.
Khairul said the absence of the Koreans — who swept both the men’s recurve individual and team titles in the first two legs in Shanghai and Antalya — would allow the rest of the world including Malaysia to contend for top prizes.
“I see an opportunity to win as the Koreans are not here, but the Mexicans and Americans will still be tough to beat. It’s also windy here, so it will be tricky,” said Khairul, who jumped 20 rungs to No. 24 in the world ranking recently.
The South Koreans proved to be a stumbling block for Malaysians at the previous leg, where Khairul finished fourth in the individual and team events in Antalya, Turkey last month.
Khairul lost to eventual champion Kim Woo-jin in the semi-finals and Oh Jin-hyek in the third-place playoff.
In the team event, Malaysia’s run was also halted by South Korea in the last four. They eventually settled fourth after losing to Britain.
A good showing will brighten Khairul’s chances of making a return to the top-eight in the World Cup Finals after a five-year lapse in Samsun, Turkey from Sept 29-30.
Only the winners of each stage will qualify automatically for the Finals, with another three further places awarded on points accrued and one place reserved for the host country.