Archer Fatin Can’t Wait To Compete Again

      Archer Fatin Can’t Wait To Compete Again - Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh just can’t wait to get her competitive juices flowing again.

The 25-year-old compound archer has not competed in any meets since the Asia Cup Stage 2 in Taiwan in September. Then, she teamed up with Saritha Cham Nong and Nurul Syazhera Mohd Asmi to win the women’s team gold. The trio were also victorious in the Asia Cup Stage 1 in Bangkok in March.

Four months on, Fatin will finally make her long-awaited return to competition when she kicks off her season at the South-East Asian Archery Championships in Yangon, Myanmar, from Jan 19-24.

“We are itching for real action. It has been training and more training in the past few months,” said Fatin. “We ended the season in Taiwan on a winning note, so it would be nice if we can pick up where we left off.

“We’re glad to get into competitive mood as early as January. Usually we don’t hit the ground running until the Asia Cup in March.”

Fatin said the Yangon meet would serve as an ideal first step to the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in August.

“It’s also a chance to gauge our rivals’ strengths before the Games,” added Fatin, a three-gold medallist at the Singapore Games last year.

She was successful in the individual, team (with Saritha Cham Nong and Nor Rizah Ishak) and mixed team (Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki). The trio of Juwaidi, Zulfadhli Ruslan and Lee Kin Lip delivered another gold in the men’s compound team.

Following their success in Singapore, Malaysia are now tipped to dominate in Yangon.

Said Fatin: “We won’t put too much pressure on ourselves since it’s just the first event of the year. We’re going through a transition period and the team is still a work in progress. It’s all about gaining the momentum at the moment.”

Two archers have since left the team. The men’s side lost Muhd Zaki Mahazan to retirement while Nurhayati Al-Madihah Hashim opted out of the sport to pursue her master’s degree.

Besides Fatin, the other women in the competition are Saritha, Nurul, Nor Rizah and Sazatul Nadhirah Zakaria.

The men’s team consist of Zulfadli, Juwaidi, Kin Lip, M. Khambeswaran and Alang Ariff Aqil Muhammad.

After the South-East Asian Championships, the archers will take part in the Asia Cup Stage 2 in Bangkok (March 19-26) and World Cup Stage 1 in Shanghai (May 16-21).