KUALA LUMPUR — As the women’s recurve archers made history by qualifying for the Olympic Games for the first time, the men’s side failed to qualify, marking the first time in 16 years that Malaysia will not have male representation in archery at the Olympics.
This comes after three national men’s archers failed in their last-ditch effort to qualify for Paris 2024, being eliminated in the early rounds of the individual recurve and team events at the ArcheryInParis Final Olympic Qualifier in Antalya, Turkiye, which ended yesterday.
National Archery Association of Malaysia (NAAM) president Datuk Abdul Hamid Hasan said the Antalya tournament was the final chance for Olympic qualification but the results were expected as Malaysia had sent mainly backup athletes to gain experience.
“The men’s and women’s teams we sent were mostly backup athletes, so their failure to qualify was expected, but they gave their best. Luck was not on their (male squad) side when they lost to the Indonesian team, who we know are very strong.
“That was their first time competing in a qualification tournament, so we accept the results, but the target for this squad remains to qualify for the next Olympic Games (Los Angeles 2028),” he told Bernama.
In the tournament, the men’s recurve trio of Zarif Syahiir Zolkepel, Danish Amsyar Norazlan, and Syafiq Busthamin lost in the early rounds, 0-6 to Indonesia in the team event and also in the individual competition.
Previously, Malaysia had always had male archers competing in individual or team events at the Olympic Games since the Beijing 2008 edition.
Last Friday, the women’s recurve trio of Ariana Nur Dania Mohamad Zairi, Nurul Azreena Mohamad Fazil, and Syaqiera Mashayikh ended Malaysia’s 68-year wait to qualify for the Olympic Games.
Since the country joined the Olympics in 1956, this marks the first time Malaysia’s women’s archery team secured their spot for Paris 2024 after reaching the final in the same tournament in Antalya.
They narrowly lost 4-5 to China’s trio of Yang Xiaolei, Li Jiaman, and An Qixuan in the final, bringing home the silver medal.
Earlier, Ariana Nur Dania had secured a ticket to Paris 2024 in the women’s individual recurve event after winning gold at the Asian Continental Qualifying Championship in Bangkok last November. — June 18, 2024