Safirredzuan aims to walk in the same path as cousin Alia
HAVING a successful role model in the family is an advantage indeed. Just ask junior shooter Safirredzuan Salim.
Thanks to the encouragement from his cousin and national top woman pistol shooter Alia Sazana Azahari, the 21-year-old Safirredzuan did not only pick up shooting but went on to end his final Malaysia Games (Sukma) outing by winning two gold medals.
The Terengganu lad retained his gold in the boys’ 25m sports pistol event at the Darul Ridzuan Shooting Range yesterday by posting a score of 564 in the final.
Pahang’s Syaidiq Hanif June Hassen also scored 564 points but Safirredzuan’s performance in the last series, where he shot 96 points against Syaidiq’s 91, tipped the gold in his favour.
Negri Sembilan’s Umar Fareed Faroukh took the bronze with 561.
He also won the team silver with Nik Luqman Nik Omar and Syafiqrul Firdaus Mohd Husni after scoring 1663 points, just three points shy of Pahang but it was enough to get the better of Negri Sembilan by two points.
His first gold came in the 25m standard pistol on Monday.
Safirredzuan, who won both the 25m sports pistol individual and team gold at the last Sukma, now hopes to walk in the footsteps of Alia and join the national team.
The 26-year-old Alia is an exceptional shooter having won the bronze medal in the 25m sports pistol at the Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, in April. She also won the 25m sports pistol gold at the 2015 Singapore SEA Games and retained it at last year’s Kuala Lumpur Games.
“I really hope I can emulate her success by joining the national team and winning the SEA Games gold,” said Safirredzuan.
“We’ve been close since we were young and I took up shooting because she asked me seven years ago.
“In 2011, when she was still only a state shooter, I trained with her almost every day in Terengganu.
“She also gave me a lot of advice and taught me how to shoot. And I still do see her and talk with her from time to time especially when I train with her at the Subang Shooting Range,” he added.