Give us more exposure abroad — Archer

KUA L A LUMPU R: T he uninspiring performance of the national archery squad in the Rio Olympics is due to the lack of participation in local and foreign competitions.

The aspect of coaching did not arise as members of the squad felt they already have the best coach in Lee Jae-hyung of South Korea.

National archer, Khairul Anuar Mohamad said Jae-hyung should be retained for the team’s preparations for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.

Khairul Anuar who has been with Jae-hyung since 2011 and his teammates were more comfortable with the approach and training methods employed by the coach.

“I would like to defend him but we cannot interfere. All parties should re- evaluate why is it since the coach joined the team, Malaysia has not failed to qualify for the Olympics since 2004.

“On behalf of my teammates, I feel the coach (Jae-hyung) is the best,” he said.

Khairul Anuar said compared to other countries, the Malaysian n at iona l a r che r y s qu ad participated in the least number of championships at international level with the minimum of only four tournaments.

“If we could not participate in many tournaments overseas, increase t h e numb e r o f competitions in the country as done in South Korea,” he said.

On Friday, National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM) president Mohamad Yazid Yahya said the time has come to replace Jae-hyung with a new coach who is better in tune with the latest in archery.

Nonetheless, the decision to retain or sack the coach lies in the hands of National Sports Council ( MSN) and the National Sports Institute ( ISN). — Bernama