Minimise distraction the key for Johnathan in Europe

PETALING JAYA: Shooter Johnathan Wong needs full focus before the Paris Olympics and less distractions.

As such, he has been asked to speak less but do more talking in training.

Coach Firdaus Abdul Rahim wants the Melaka-born shooter to give undivided concentration on his stint in Europe.

The 32-year-old pistol shooter is currently taking part in local competitions in Berlin, Germany and also training alongside some Olympic athletes from Europe before heading for the World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Wednesday.

“We have imposed a gag-order because we want him to be focused on his preparation,” said Firdaus.

“We are in Berlin to train. He took part in the Internationaler Wettkampf Berlin (IWK) Berlin, which is a local competition in the European calendar.

“He brushed shoulders with Olympic shooters from Europe, especially from Azerbaijan. This is a warm-up before the World Cup in Baku on May 1.

“John’s journey to Olympics is on track. We are not setting any specific target but for him to shoot good scores.

“In order to qualify for the top-eight final, it’s good to score 582 and above. It’s safer if he can shoot 584.

Firdaus wants Johnathan to peak at the Olympics.

“He qualified at the previous Olympics but there was too much hype on him,” he said.

“Europe is now his training and competitions base. The environment will be good for him as he competes against the Europeans.

Overall, Firdaus is happy that Johnathan had been responding well to his programmes.

“This time, we gave him an overview on what we want to achieve and set out our mission. He’s definitely going to the Olympics to compete, and not to be a mere passenger.

Johnathan will be competing at the Olympics for the second time after making his debut at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro. He qualified for the Paris stint after finishing fourth at the Asian Championships in Changwon, South Korea last November.