AIMING TO SURPRISE
Young team to compete without Nicol and Wee Wern
DEVINDER SINGH devinder@nst.com.my but the competition in Chennai will be far more challenging.
“It will be a good experience for me to be playing in the Asian Championships for the first time,” said Andrea, 18, who won her first PSA Tour title at the Hong Kong Challenge Cup in July last year.
”I have a really tough draw, playing against Dipika Pallikal in the second round and she’s in the top 20 so it will be a good experience for me.”
Seeded 10th, Andrea opens against Iran’s Fereshteh Eghtedari of Iran on Wednesday before a probable meeting with India’s Dipika, the fourth seed.
Andrea, who reached the final of the Malaysian Tour event in Negri Sembilan in January, said the Asian Championships is a good way to prepare for the World Junior Championships and the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games in August.
“It’s actually good preparation for the World Juniors by getting used to playing against older and more experienced players,” said World No 77 Andrea.
“The experience will come in handy when we play the Egyptians.
“Hopefully I will play well in the World Juniors which is my last
It’s actually good preparation for the World Juniors by getting used to playing against older and more experienced players.”
junior tournament and if I’m chosen for the Sea Games then I will be preparing for that.
“I’m not sure which event I might be selected for, maybe the doubles, and I won’t mind that because I’ll be just glad to be part of the team.” football competition in South Korea in September.
Hazally said the education ministry’s faith in women’s compound archer Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh has paid off when she won gold at last week’s Asian University Archery Championship in Nilai.
Fatin beat Taiwanese Tian Hsuan Lee 144-129 in the individual competition while the other national archers won five silver medals in the men’s team compound, women’s team compound, mixed team compound, men’s team recurve and women’s team recurve.
Hazally said the championships served as a measuring stick for the Universiade.
“It goes to show that at the Universiade, we will get tougher com petition.
“We were quite surprised to see Taiwan dominating archery but I believe the challenge won’t just be from them but also from the US, Korea and even China.”
The contingent will have their last training camp in Lumut, Perak just two to three weeks before departing for Taiwan. Farah Azharie