Hungry Juwaidi does it
After nine years, archer wins sought-after individual gold
IT TOOK nine years and five SEA Games, but archer Juwaidi Mazuki finally landed the individual compound gold medal. And he did so in convincing fashion by beating Thailand’s Sirapop Chainak 147-142 in the gold medal playoff at the National Sports Training Centre in Hanoi yesterday.
His heart must have been racing as victory looked imminent and he constantly tapped his chest to calm himself down, although he looked focused on his shots.
He took a sizeable lead in the third game and when victory was confirmed, he ran toward his teammates, shouting: “Finally!”
To make the long wait sweeter, it was his second gold medal as he had also won the mixed team event with Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh.
Both of them beat Jennifer Dy Chan and Paul Santos De La Cruz 151-150.
It remedied the setback earlier during the day when he, Wong Co Wan and Alang Ariff Aqil Mohd Ghazali lost to Indonesia 229-230 in the gold medal playoff in the team event.
“I am happy I finally won the individual gold after five SEA Games. This equalled my achievement in the 2017 SEA Games, where I won two golds and a silver but this is the first time I have the individual gold,” said the 32-year-old, who first competed in the SEA Games in 2013.
“After the team event, I was hungrier to do well in the mixed team, and I have to say, it was a tight match as the Filipinos fought real hard. They won by just a point and that shows how close it was.
“That spurred me to do well in the individual event.’’
Juwaidi said he had been planning his assault on the individual gold since the pandemic happened.
Before flying to Hanoi, he had felt “90%” confident of winning.
“My training sessions indicated that, to be honest. I just felt like it was coming.’’
Now that he has conquered the South-east Asian region, Juwaidi has set his sights on the Asian Games.
“Yes, a lot of giants are from Asia, but I think I can bring them down in Hangzhou at the Asian Games next year. It is time to aim higher.”
Meanwhile, Fatin said she was delighted to win her third SEA Games mixed team title gold.
The 31-year-old also won bronze when she, P. Kayalvhily and Iman Aisyah Norazam beat the Philippines 227-224 in the team event playoff.
“I felt good when I won the bronze medal playoff, so I brought that form to the mixed team.
“The stage was wobbly at times but I managed to adapt, and Juwaidi was there to advise me as well.
“I have no words. It feels really good.”