Golden touch of Midas Firdaus

HIS name is Mohd Firdaus Abd Rahim but you can call him Midas.

The shooting coach has the golden touch. In Hanoi, he has helped both Johnathan Wong and Nurul Syasya Nadiah Ariffin win their individual gold in the 10m air pistol.

Both shooters credited him after their victories, saying he was the rock in their performance.

Johnathan said Firdaus helped him calm down and found ways to better his technique while Syasya searched him out and thanked him after the win.

With such respect from the shooters, it looks like Firdaus could be helming the national squad for quite some time to come.

The man himself is humble. He said the recipe was in adding to the athletes’ strengths and capabilities.

“I am thankful. Two years without competition was indeed a struggle, but we compensated for that with lots of intense training. We only went out as a team in February to the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Jakarta Grand Prix Rifle and Pistol.

“All went well after that, and we expected these two (Johnathan and Syasya) to peak during the SEA Games.

“What I did is to correct the weaknesses they had. I also made sure they were in high spirits before and during the Games.

“Training was intense, but I made sure it was effective. We did isometric exercises, shooting for long and short periods.

“It has to be monitored. The aim and timing must be aligned,” he added.

All that work bore fruit on competition day as both Johnathan and Syasya were able to stay strong and increase their gap when in the lead.

Johnathan won with 238.6 points, leaving Vietnam’s Quoc Tran Cuong trailing for silver with 236.6.

Syasya won the gold with 239.3 points, upstaging three-time Olympian and six-time SEA Games gold medallist Tanyaporn Prucksakorn of Thailand, who took silver with 238.7 points.

The two will now combine for the mixed team event today, and Firdaus served a reminder.

“Stay true to yourself but remain humble. John is experienced while Syasya is competing in her first Games.

“But most important of all, I want them to bring this spirit for future competitions and Games,” said Firdaus.