Miri archers shine at Junior Circuit in Malacca

MIRI: Sarawak team bagged six gold and three silver medals in the First Series of MSN/ NAAM Junior Circuit 2017 (Under 18 & 15 Years Old) archery tournament in Malacca from March 23-26.

The team comprising Lee Siaw Jing, Natasha Ting Sze Pei and Nur Atiqah Az-Zahrah Abdul Wahab were all from Miri.

One gold was won in the team event, while the individual events saw Natasha winning three golds and Lee winning two golds, along with three silvers.

Lee also scored the highest points in the Girls’ Under-15 category, which was 1,258 points, while the second highest was Natasha with 1,233 points.

“I am very proud of them for making names for Sarawak in the sport, especially Miri,” said Miri archery coach David Ting in a press conference on Wednesday.

Fol lowing the outstanding result, Ting said Lee has been selected to represent Malaysia under the Penang Regional Junior programme.

“She is the third archer in Miri who have been chosen for the national team. The first was Bryson Ting who was selected for the Olympic Games and is currently undergoing training in Kuala Lumpur. The second was Natasha. Both were selected for the national team last year,” he said.

Ac cording t o T ing, the development of the sport in Miri is progressing well, where new talents and potential athletes are being discovered from time to time.

“Apart from regular practice, I believe our athletes are also doing well because of the strong support from their parents. Such support not only boosts our players’ spirit but also motivates them to do their best,” he added.

Ting also urged parents whose children are into the sport of archery to always be supportive so that their children can excel in the sport.

Meanwhile, Lee said she was thrilled with the results and still could not believe how well she did in the tournament.

“I was surprised with the achievements and I am very happy. I practice very hard every day except for Thursday which is my rest day,” said the 15-year- old student from Riam Middle School.

Lee took up archery over a year ago after seeing her younger sister being active in the sport.

“I was inspired when I saw my sister doing quite well in the sport so I wanted to try it out for myself,” she said.

She added that her younger sister who turns 12 this year took up the sport when she was 11 and has so far won two golds in Malaysian Schools Sports Council ( MSSM) championship.