Hasli Aiming For Glory

(L-R) Pemba Tamang (Silver) of India, Vijay Kumar (Gold) of India and Amir Hasli Izwan (Bronze) of Malaysia pose with their medals in the Men's 25 m Rapid Fire Pistol at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games

By Jugjet Singh

jugjet@nst.com.my
HASLI Izwan is a portly chap, who will not receive a second look on the
street.
But put a pistol in his hand, and you better be more than 25 metres
away because he can place the bullet right between the eyes.
The 31-year-old manager of the Langkawi International Shooting Range
(LISRAM) will be competing in his first Olympics, but he hopes not his
last.
"In Beijing, my aim is to get a good placing, preferably in the top-15
bracket. And then I will keep on shooting until I win an Olympic medal,
as age is no barrier in this sport," said Hasli.
His love for shooting blossomed in 1994 when the sport was introduced
in the Malaysia Games. Hasli represented Perak and fell head-over-heels
in love with his pistol.
"The Malaysia Games were fun but it was tough breaking into the
national team as there were many established shooters in my field. I got
my break in 1997 and have smashed a few records since."
His personal best is 581 points which he did at the Asian Shooting
Championship in Kuwait last year which earned him a ticket to Beijing on
merit.
But the score is way behind that of the top Rapid Fire Pistol shooters
around the world. A check with the International Shooting Sports
Federation (ISSF) website listed Christian Reitz from Germany as the
World No 1 while Hasli's name was not among the top-50 listed.
It will be a monumental task for Hasli in Beijing as his discipline
involves a regime of four series of five shots, and the series will each
be in four seconds.
"If I think about the odds, I might as well stay home. But I am not
worried as I gain my strength from prayers and my family.
"Thinking about my son and daughter, always helps calm my nerves, and
that is what one needs to win a medal in the Olympics."
He was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and
if nothing else, experience will be on his side.
He is also the first Malaysian shooter to have qualified on merit for
the Olympics.
FACT FILE
HASLI IZWAN AMIR HASSAN
* Date of birth: 22 Feb, 1977
* Hometown: Ipoh
* Height: 167cm
* Weight: 89kg
* Coach: Mohamed Hashim Desa
* Likes: Kampung Food
* Dislikes: Hypocrites
* Favourite movie: Action thrillers
* Favourite food: Malay dishes
* Favourite actor/actress: Sylvester Stallone
* Career high: Silver medal at the 2007 Asian Championships
* Career low: Failing in the1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games
* Previous Olympic appearances: Debutant
* Beijing event: 25-metre rapid fire pistol
* Competition dates: Aug 9-17.

Selangor SA sponsor six juniors

29/11/2002

THE Selangor Shooting Association (SSA) has come to the rescue of six
juniors when the National Sports Council (NSC) decided not to foot their
bill for the 26th SEASA Shooting Championship in Hanoi, Vietnam.
The championship is scheduled for Nov 27 to Dec 8, but as the events
which the Malaysians will be competing in only begins on Dec 1, the three
boys will leave for Vietnam tomorrow followed by the girls on Dec 4.
"The NSC felt that after the Busan Asian Games, there are no more big
events for the shooters, so they did not fund the juniors for the Vietnam
Championship.
"But for the sake of development, SSA decided to send the six young
shooters on its own accord," said National Shooting Association of
Malaysia (NSAM) honorary advisor Ong Hoon Chin.
It is also learnt that as the seniors were not available for one reason
or another, hence the juniors got their break to represent the country in
a competition which is deemed similar in standard to the Sea Games.
"Ten countries will be competing in Vietnam and the competition is
expected to be stiff as the Championship offers `Minimum Qualification
Scores (MQS)' for the Athens 2004 Olympics," said Ong.
The MQS, awarded by the International Shooting Federation, is important
for shooters who hope to qualify for the Olympics.
In the absence of national stars, Lim I Vern, Mashita Ramli, Norhidayah
Ramli, Leong Jia Chyuan, Nicholas Aw Kai Foong and Mohamed Hezir Azmi will
now get their shot at glory.
Selangor shooters dominated this year's National Championships and the
SportExcel Grand Finals at the Subang Shooting Range, so it is not
surprising that all the six shooters selected are from Selangor.
In the Sabah Malaysia Games, I Vern helped Selangor to better the
State's 1998 Games record in the women's team rifle event. Together with Joanne Ng and Zalita Mohamed Yusoff, the trio also improved the Games record of 1,159 by two points.
In Vietnam, I Vern will partner Mashita and Norhidayah in the air rifle
event.
Mashita and I Vern were also in top form in the National Championship
when they, together with Joanne, erased the air rifle team record with a
combined total of 1,164 points.
Leong is another budding shooter. He equalled the National Junior Record with 571 points in the sport pistol. His score matched that of Kelantan's
Nik Arisuddin Atqi in March.
"Although we have sent a very junior side, all of them have been
progresssing steadily since January.
"In Vietnam, they will get a chance to compete with senior shooters from
other countries and maybe pick up a few pointers," said Ong.
Squad: Lim I Vern (air rifle, prone, three position), Mashita Ramli (air
rifle, prone, three position), Norhidayah Ramli (air rifle, prone, three
position), Leong Jia Chyuan (air pistol, sport pistol), Nicholas Aw Kai
Foong (air pistol, sport pistol), Mohamed Heir Azmi (air pistol, sport
pistol).
(END)

Shooters not good enough

18/09/2002

THE national shooters are not good enough to win medals at the Busan Asian
Games.
National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) secretary Mej Jasni
Shaari was very frank about his assessment when met recently.
"I fear that the public might think otherwise because our shooters have
always done well in the Commonwealth and Sea Games. But since the Asian
Games shooting competition is of the same standard as the Olympics,
Malaysia do not have a chance of landing any medals," said Jasni.
Mohamed Emran Zakaria is the only shooter, among the seven named for the
Games, who has an outside chance of winning a medal. And on Monday, he was
made the penghulu (headman) of the national contingent after National
Sports Council director general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad handed the Jalur
Gemilang to the Busan-bound athletes.
Emran is shaping up nicely and at the recent National Championships, he
shot down the the six-year-old national record for the SB free Rifle Three
Position with a score of 1,246.1.
His score surpassed Jasni's total of 1,245.4 set in 1996. And Emran, 27,
who did not train going into the competition, said he could have done
better.
Emran, who won a silver for the air rifle pairs event with Mohamed
Hameleay Mutalib in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, said he has yet
to hit form.
The official target for the seven national shooters in Busan is to reach
the final, as the marksmen will also be using the event to qualify for the
2004 Olympics in Athens.
The standard of the Asian Games is very high, with world champions from
China and world record holders from South Korea and Japan expected to
compete.
But Emran believes if the national shooters perform consistently, they
should qualify for the final.
Hameleay, meanwhile, bettered his two-year national junior record of
1,142 points by four points in the final of the individual SB Free Rifle 3
Position event at the National Championships.
The standard is so high that Ukrainian Irina Maharani, a naturalised
Malaysian, was among those who failed to qualify for the Asiad, although
she won a silver medal in the women's sport pistol pairs with Bibiana Ng
at the Manchester Commonwealth Games.
Bibiana met the qualifying mark, which is the third placed finish in the
1998 Bangkok Asian Games, but will instead be undergoing a cadet police
ASP (assistant superintendent) training during the Asiad and has given the
Games a skip.
For the women, Roslina Bakar, bronze medallist in Manchester in the
women's 50m rifle Three positions, Nurul Hudda Baharin and Nor Dalila
Bakar, are also expected to face stiff competition and medals are out of
the question.
(END)

Selangor grab top honours

26/08/2002


SELANGOR shooters dominated both the National Championships and the
SportExcel Grand Finals when the dust settled at the Subang Shooting Range
yesterday.
The seniors amassed nine gold, 10 silver and eight bronze medals to
emerge tops while the juniors had a whopping 21 gold, nine silver and nine
bronze medals in the SportExcel championship.
But the disparity in standards was there for all to see as in the
SportExcel Championship, Kelantan, Penang, Kedah, Malacca, Pahang, Perak
and Perlis lads failed to win even a single medal.
And in the National Championship, the states which went home empty
handed were Johor, Penang, Kedah, Malacca, Pahang, Kuala Lumpur, Perlis
and Terengganu.
Yesterday, Selangor shooter Leong Jia Chyuan equalled the National
Junior Record with 571 points in the Sport Pistol. His score was simlar to
the mark notched by Kelantan's Nik Arisuddin Atqi in March this year.
There were no other notable achievements yesterday but the National
Championship has served its purpose as records fell like flies in the
second and third day of shooting.
The first record was shot down by the Selangor girls team of Mashita
Ramli Lim I Vern and Joanne Ng Sook Ee in the Air Rifle event with a
combined total of 1,164 points.
Then national shooter Nurul Hudda Baharin, getting ready for the Asian
Games in Busan next month, got her name on two records in the SB Sport
Rifle Prone. In the individual, her golden shot of 594 was a record feat
and her combined effort with team-mates Nordalilah Abu Bakar and Asmayuzie
Mat Amin also bettered the SB Sport Rifle Prone team record with 1,765
points.
The juniors then cracked three more records but the most memorable one
was when Mohamed Emran Zakaria shot down a six-year national record in the
men's SB Free Rifle Three Position with a score of 1,246.1.
Emran's, 27, finally cracked the six-year-old record of 1,245.4 set by
Mej Jasni Shaari.
And the good news is that the Asian Games bound shooter said that he was
still not at his best and might surprise all in the Asian Games.
But the prospect of landing a medal in Busan is not what Emran must have
been thinking about, because the competition is too stiff as Malaysia
found out in the 1998 Bangkok Games where they returned empty handed.
The history books will spare a page for Emran, even if he manages to
make the final in Busan.
RESULTS - National Championships: Men's Centre Fire Pistol: 1 Zakaria
Ishak (Kel) 570, 2 Darham Ali (Police), 567 3 Hasli Izwan (Pk) 559.
Centre Fire Pistol Team: 1 Kelantan 1,631 pts (Zakaria 570, Baharuddin
Hashim 537, Saipuddin Yusof 524); 2 Forces 1,613 (Sany Ghazali 552,
Zulkifli Ismail 537, Zulkifli Hassan 524); 3 Police 1,611 (Darham Ali 567,
Hashim Desa 552, Marzuki Man 482).
Women's SB sport rifle three position: 1 Nurul Hudda Baharin (Police)
662.7 pts, 2 Noriha Abdul Rani (Forces) 659.0, 3 Nordalilah Abu Bakar
(Police) 652.9.
SB Sport Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Police 1,684 pts (Nurul 569,
Nordalilah 558, Asmayuzie Mat Amin 557); 2 Selangor 1,659 (Lim I Vern 559,
Norhidayah Ramli 556, Nina Ismawati 544); 3 Sarawak 1,637 (Gracy Bohan
550, Veronica Eileen 545, Imabel Yvonne Tiong 542).
SportExcel Championships - Boys' Sport Pistol: Leong Jia Chyuan (Sel)
571, 2 Bibit Ngoyet (Sar) 558, 3 Mohamed Hezir Azmi (Sel) 555.
Sport Pistol Team: 1 Selangor 1,672 pts (Leong 571, Hezir 555, Nicholas
Aw Kai Foong 548); 2 Sarawak 1,621 (Bibit Nyoged 558, Billy MaCmiller 539,
Freddie Anit 524); 2 Johor 1,577 (Zulhakim Aman 553, Syawal Othman 537,
Radi Wahab 487).
Girls' SB Sport Rifle Three Position: 1 Lim I Vern 559 (Sel), 2
Norhidayah Ramli (Sel) 556, 3 Gracy Bohan (Sar) 550.
SB Sport Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Selangor 1,659 pts (Lim I Vern
559, Norhidayah 556, Nina Ismawati 544), 2 Sarawak 1,637 (Gracy Bohan 550,
Veronica Eileen 545, Imabel Yvone Tiong 542); 3 Police 1,576 (Phyllis
Eruna Licho 529, Hasmira Hassan 526, Emy Juingki 521).
(END)

Suryani best bet for Manchester

28/12/2001

NUR SURYANI Taibi of Perak, 19, shot down her first gold in the Tun Haniff
Trophy at the Subang Shooting Range yesterday.
Although her grand total of 489.1 points in the air rifle is still far
off Nurul Hudda Baharin's national record of 496.7 done in February this
year, Suryani is almost a certain bet for the Manchester Commonwealth
Games next year.
The Tun Haniff Cup is part of the selection process for the Commonwealth
Games and there will be three more local tournaments next year for Suryani
to consolidate her position in the Commonwealth Games squad.
Air rifle record holder Nurul could only manage a poor 476.7 points
yesterday and she finished eighth in the event.
At the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy and the SportExcel-NSC-NSAM-JSA Junior
championships at the Subang Shooting Range recently, Suryani bagged a
total of seven gold medals and a smallbore rifle three position record
with 566 points. The old mark of 565 was done by Lim I Vern of Selangor in
April this year.
Yesterday, top-notch shooter Irina Maharani from Selangor also failed to
shine as she was pipped to the sport pistol gold by Sarawak shooter
Bibiana Ng.
Bibiana fired a grand total of 671.8 points while Irina had 671.6.
However, Irina's national record of 679.5 done in April last year still
stands.
In the men's event, Mohamed Imran Zakaria of Armed Forces is slowly
getting back into form as he fired 682.4 for gold in the air rifle. But he
is still far off the national mark of 692.3 done by Abdul Mutalib Razak in
1997.
RESULTS: Men - Free Pistol Individual: 1 Baharuddin Hashim (Kel)
620.6pts, 2 Mohamed Hashim Desa (Police) 614.8, 3 Mohamed Rahimi Yassin
(Armed Forces) 609.4.
Free Pistol Team: 1 Police 1,539 points (Mohamed Hashim Desa 527, Abdul
Rahim Rajuli 506, Marzuki Man 506); 2 Kelantan 1,511 (Baharuddin Hashim
529, Wan Abdul Rahman 493, Zakaria Ishak 489); 3 Armed Forces 1,496
(Rahimi Yassin 523, Alais Neek Sulong 489, Norazhar Mat Nawi 484).
Air Rifle Individual: 1 Mohamed Emran Zakaria 682.4, 2 Mohamed Zainul
Akmal Azmi (Kel) 681.4, 3 Mohamed Hameleay Mutalib (Sel) 679.8.
Air Rifle Team: 1 Armed Forces 1,734 (Emran Zakaria 585, Azahari
Abdullah 576, Mohamed Sabiki Din 573); 2 Selangor 1,727 (Hameleay Mutalib
580, Ivan Jayavenkatesh Rao 578, Wang Wen Chuen 569); 3 Kelantan 1,707
(Mohamed Zainul Akmal Azmi 582, Khairulnizam Sidek 569, Asri Mohamed 556).
Women - Air Rifle Individual: 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Pk) 489.1, 2 Lim I
Vern (Sel) 485.5, 3 Joanne Ng Sook ee (Sel) 483.6.
Air Rifle Team: 1 Selangor 1,141 (Lim I Vern 388, Mashita Ramli 382,
Norhidayah Ramli 371); 2 Police 1,140 (Nur Ain Chew Abdullah 384, Nurul
Hudda Baharin 378, Asmayuzie Mat Amin 378); 3 Perak 1,133 (Nur Suryani
Mohamed Taibi 388, Nur Husna Sharuddin 377, Nik Nur Amir Mat Taha 368).
Sport Pistol Individual: 1 Bibiana Ng (Sar) 671.8, 2 Irina Maharani
(sel) 671.6, 3 Kamisah Abdul Jalal (Police) 661.1.
Sport Pistol Team: 1 Kelantan 1,658 (Norshita Mohamed 567, Rohayu Yusof
549, Suzana Mohamed 542); 2 Police 1,630 (Kamisah Abdul Jalal 561,
Rohayati Mohamed 547, Norazlina Abdul Manan 522); 3 Perak 1,622 (Leong Wai
Si 542, Noor Asmah Ishak 540, Nur Fatihah Zolkefie 540).
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Women take the lion's share

26/12/2001

THE National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) surpassed their four-
gold target for the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games, but that does not mean they
had a great year.
They need to do something, fast, because the men have been firing blanks
and it is their women shooters who have been doing well at the range.
Though the team had exceeded the target set by the National Sports
Council (NSC) by winning six gold medals in the Sea Games, five came from
the women shooters.
Irina Maharani, Bibiana Ng and Suefarinawaty won, among them, four gold
medals.
Malaysia's women rifle squad - Nurul Hudda Baharin, Roslina Bakar and
Nur Suryani Taibi - won the gold medal in the three position 50m event.
Hasli Izwan Amir saved the men's squad the blushes when he won the gold
medal in rapid fire pistol by setting a Games record.
Before the Sea Games, the national shooters returned from the South-East
Asian Shooting Association (SEASA) tournament in Bangkok with eight gold
medals and expectations were high.
The week-long regional tournament saw shooters, preparing for the Sea
Games in September, winning eight gold out of 17 events offered so their
performance at the KL Sea Games was nothing to shout about.
It was not a productive year for the shooters and they hope to do better
next year when they compete in the Manchester Commonwealth Games and the
Asian Games in Pusan.
NSAM have already named their training squad for the Commonwealth and
Asian Games next year.
They are Mohd Emran Zakaria, Mohd Zaki Din, Mohd Hameleay Mutalib, Hasli
Hizuan Amir, Azmi Osman and Hamdan Rahmat, Roslina Bakar, Suryani Mohd
Taibi, Nur Daliah, Nurul Hudda Baharin, Nur Suefarinawati Affendy, Irina
Maharani and Bibiana Ng.
All the shooters were in the Sea Games squad, except for Azmi and Hamdan
who were selected based on their outstanding performance at several
championships including the Langkawi Full Bore Challenge 2001 at the
Langkawi International Shooting Range (Lisram) in September.
Azmi and Hamdan are from Unit B of the Special Assault Forces Team.
The two will join six other shooters and train at Lisram for the
Commonwealth Games to be held in Manchester, England, from July 25 to Aug
4.
The shooters will also compete in the New Zealand National Shooting
Championships from Jan 4 and the World Full Bore Championships in South
Africa in April as well as the Bisley Championships in England in July.
They will continue their training in England until the Commonwealth
Games begins.
Participation in these championships would give them wide exposure and
prepare them adequately for the Manchester Games.
Hopefully, they would yield better results next year.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Suryani shoots gold tally to seven

12/11/2001

NUR Suryani Taibi of Perak shot down two more gold medals in the final day
of the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy and the SportExcel-NSC-NSAM-JSA Junior
championships at the National Shooting Range in Subang yesterday.
She won gold in the SB Sport Rifle Prone of the senior and junior
category to bring her grand total to seven gold medals and one record in
the four-day tournamant.
After the medal presentation, she calmly said her short term target is
to win gold in the Commonwealth Games and then the Olympics.
"My dream is to represent the country in the Olympics and win a gold at
the highest level. So right now I am preparing myself to make the
Commonwealth Games squad and maybe qualify for the Asian Games in Pusan
next year," said the 19-year-old UiTM student.
She started shooting at the age of 15 after being persuaded by her
father, who is in the Armed Forces, and her latest achievement was a gold
and a sliver in the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games.
RESULTS - Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy: Men's Air Pistol - 1 Baharuddin
Hashim (Kel) 654.8 pts, 2 Darham Ali (Police) 652.3, 3 Alinoor Raziff Noor
Sidek (Police) 649.6.
Air Pistol Team: 1 Police - Darham Ali (561), Alinoor Razif Noor Sidek
(556), Abdul Rahim Rajuli (543); 2 Selangor - Ang Chee Choon (557), Wong
Chon Toh (547), Mark Seng (545); 3 Kelantan - Baharuddin Hashim (562),
Zakaria Ishak (540), Wan Abdul Rahman (524).
Trap: 1 Charles Chen (Sel) 137, 2 Gary Goh Kheng Yoong (Sel) 133, 3
Leong Wei Heng (KSA) 127.
Skeet: 1 Kaw Fun Ying (Sel) 138, 2 Richard Cheong (Sel) 133, Mohamed
Omar Risman (Sel) 128.
Women's Sport Pistol: 1 Irina Maharani (Sel) 666.9, 2 Rohayu Yusof 663.1
(Kel), 3 Norsita Mohamed (Kel) 661.3.
Sport Pistol Team: 1 Sarawak - Suefarinawathy Effendi (562), Haslinda
Nosan (550), Rosny Jisin (548); 2 Selangor - Irina Maharani (571), Julia
Ong Been Suan (549), Dahlia Vehicle (522); 3 Perak - Leong Wai Si (556),
Nur Fathiah Zolkefle (556), Noor Asmah Ishak (539).
SB Sport Rifle Prone: 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Pk) 584, 2 Nordalilah Abu
Bakar (Police) 577, 3 Nasreena Nazaruddin (Pah) 577.
SB Sport Rifle Prone Team: 1 Police - Nordalilah Abu Bakar (577), Ann
Chiew (574), Sarihati Awang Akhbar 571; 2 Pahang - Nasreena Nazaruddin
(577), Siti Nurazreen Eliana Sidek (575), Norlita Omar (566); 3 Perak -
Nur Suryani Taibi (548), Nur Husna Sharuddin (570), Rohayu Nayan (563).
SportExceL-NSC-NSAM-JSA Junior Championship - Men's Air Pistol: 1 Tan
Wei Han (Pg) 548 pts, 2 Mohamed Firdaus (Pah) 541, 3 Khairul Isham (KL)
540.
Air Pistol Team: 1 Johor - Mohamed Nazmi Salleh (539), Mohamed Radi
Wahab (536), Zul Hakim Aman (522); 2 Pahang - Mohamed Firdaus Rahim (541),
Syamsudin Sukemi (540), Mohamed Sabri (512); 3 Sarawak - Joshua Nai (536),
Bibit Nyoged (531), Mushaldi Saruji (505).
Women's Sport Pistol: 1 Nur Fatiah Zolkefle (Pk) 556, 2 Haslinda Nosan
(Sar) 550, 3 Rosny Jisin (Sar) 548.
Sport Pistol Team: 1 Perak - Nur Fatiah Zolkefle (556), Noor Asmah Ishak
(539), Leong Wai Si (536); 2 Sarawak - Haslinda Nosan (550), Rosny Jisin
(548), Chen Po Ling (519); 3 Penang - See Lim Ai Lin (536), Joseline Cheah
(536) Leong Ho Ming (523).
SB Sport Rifle Prone: 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Pk) 584, 2 Nasrena Nazaruddin
(Pah) 577, 3 Mariani Rafali (Kel) 575.
SB sport Rifle Prone Team: 1 Pahang - Nasrena Nazaruddin (577), Siti
Nurazreen Eliana (575), Norlita Omar (566); 2 Perak - Nur Suryani Taibi
584), Nur Husna Sharuddin (570), Rohayu Nayan (563); 3 Sarawak - Veronica
Eileen (558), Sorea Tiror (555), Imabel Yvonne Tiong (533).
* jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Lack of funds stunt junior development

12/11/2001

THE National Sports Council's (NSC) decision not to fund shooting clubs
and associations have started taking its toll on junior development
programmes.
National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) executive secretary Mej
Jasni Shaari said in the past NSC's support has made the sport grow but
now they will have a hard time implementing their development programmes.
"With the policy, even the Subang Shooting Range, among the best in the
country, find it hard to support the junior and senior shooters because
they have an overhead cost of about RM20,000 a month to keep the place
running.
"Even the richer shooting associations like Selangor and Kuala Lumpur
have been hit by the policy because now we have to source for our own
funds to pay for coaches and equipment. And it looks like we may have to
make do without foreign coaches because we can't afford to pay their
salaries anymore.
"Some shooters, like Irina Maharani, only get their salary from the NSC
but the Selangor Shooting Association (SSA) foot the bill whenever there
is a tournamant," said Jasni.
Shooting clubs survive on what they get from members but unfortunately,
the members are only interested in recreational shooting and most are not
bothered with the score.
"So we are in a dilemma here. You can't blame the clubs for being
business minded but at the same time, we need some form of subsidy to keep
shooting alive in the country."
NSC director general Datuk Mazlan Ahmad was unavailable for comment as
he is he has left for overseas.
Meanwhile, Jasni said 11 shooters who competed in the Kuala Lumpur Sea
Games have been retained in their project squad for the Commonwealth and
the Asian Games.
"But they will have to be on their toes if they want to get selected.
The Tun Haniff Cup after Hari Raya is part of the selection for the Asian
and Commonwealth Games.
"After that there will be other tournaments where they will have to do
well before making the final squad," said Jasni.
According to Jasni, it is easier to win medals at the Commonwealth Games
than in the Asian Games where China also compete.
In the Commonwwalth Games, the format is also different where by instead
of the team event with three shooters, only two are allowed and they
compete in the individual and doubles.
(END)

Johor to shoot ahead with new range

11/11/2001

THERE were no spectactular results in the third day of the Tun Tan Siew
Sin Trophy or the SportExcel-NSC-NSAM-JSA junior tournamant at the
National Shooting Range in Subang yesterday.
But there was good news for the sport in Johor as, the organisers of
both the tournamants Johor Shooting Association (JSA), have almost
realised their dream of having a state-of-the art shooting range in Batu
Pahat.
JSA president Robert Lim Wan Sia said yesterday work on the shooting
range in Batu Pahat wil start in the middle of the month and is expected
to be completed in March next year.
"At last we will have a good shooting range in Johor to kick-start the
sport in the State. We bought our own land and the National Sports Council
(NSC) gave us RM1 million to build a complex.
"We will utilise RM500,000 on construction and the rest to buy
equipment," said Robert.
Johor were handed the task of organising both the championships and
since their complex is still not ready, they used the Subang Shooting
Range instead.
"This was a good opportunity and we did not want to let it go, so we
suggested the Subang Shooting Range and the National Shooting Association
of Malaysia agreed to our proposal," said Robert who is also the vice-
president of NSAM.
Robert was instrumental in getting shooting into the Malaysia Games
calendar by writing to the 1994 hosts, Ipoh, to include the sport.
"They replied by saying that if I can get eight States to submit teams,
the sport will make its appearance in the Malaysia Games. I managed to get
10 States and now it is a permenant fixture in the Games," said Robert.
With the new range in Batu Pahat, Johor hope to make an impact in the
Sabah Malaysia Games.
"The priority will be junior development and once the range is ready, we
will start preparing a team for the Sabah Malaysia Games."
Johor have four other shooting centres in Muar, Kluang, Johor Baru and
Segamat but thaey are not of international standard and according to
robert "We will be upgrading the sport from tatched roof to the modern era
and hopefully, in a few years time, Johor will have a strong pool of
juniors for international duty."
Yesterday, Kelantan lad Mohamed Zainul Akmal shot down three golds and a
silver but his scores were nothing to shout about.
In the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy, Zainul won gold in the Small Bore Rifle
Three Position team and silver in the individual event.
In the SportExcel category, he won gold in the Small Bore Free Rifle
Three Position individual and team events.
RESULTS: Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy - Men's Centre Fire Pistol: 1 Hasli
Izwan Amir (Perak) 559 points, 2 Zakaria Ishak (Kel) 554 (shootoff 143), 3
Mohamed Hashim Desa (Police) 554 (shootoff 136).
Centre Fire Pistol Team: 1 Police - Marzuki Man (554), Mohamed Hashim
Desa (554), Abdul Rahim Rajuli (554); 2 Kelantan - Zakaria Ishak (554),
Baharuddin Hashim (535), Mohamed Saipuddin Yusoff; 3 Johor - Ker Pok San
(469), Wong Siong Jhang (445), Tay Chiow Sia (358).
SB Rifle Three Position: 1 Mohamed Emran Zakaria (Armed Forces) 1,238.6,
2 Mohamed Zainul Akmal (Kel) 1,216.6, 3 Mohamed Sabili Din (Armed Forces)
1211.3.
SB Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Kelantan - Mohamed Zainul Akmal (1,123),
Khairuddin Sidek (1,095), Asri Mohamed (1,097); 2 Selangor - Ivan
Jayavenkatesh (1,112), Wang Wen Chuen (1,097), Ong Poh Teck (1,104); 3
Armed Forces - Mohamed Emaran Zakaria (1,141), Mohamed Sabiki Din (1,120),
Mohamed Khusaimi Shariff (1.043).
SportExcel-NSC-NSAM-JSA Junior Shooting Championship - Men's Sport
Pistol: 1 Hafiza Adzha (Sel) 543, 2 Mohamed Syahrul (KMPP) 536, 3 Bibit
Nyoget (Sarawak) 536.
Sport Pistol Team: 1 Selangor - Nicholas Aw Kai Fong (535), Omar Sheriff
(528), Alif Fazally Omar (483); 2 Johor - Zulhakim Ahmad (525), Nohamed
Radi Wahab (508), Mohamed Syawal Othman (494); 3 Pahang - Mohamed Sobri
(506), Mohamed Khalis Kadir (495), Khairul Azri Roslan (485).
SB Free Rifle Three Position: 1 Mohamed Zainul Akmal (Kel) 1,123, 2 Ivan
Jayavenkatesh (Sel) 1,112, 3 Ong Poh Teck (Sel) 1,104.
SB Free Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Kelantan - Mohamed Zainul Akmal
1,123, Asri Mohamed 1,097, Khairuddin Sidek 1,095, 2 Selangor - Ivan
Jayavenkatesh 1,112, Ong Poh Tech 1,104, Wang Wen Chuen 1,097; 3 Sarawak -
Christopher Pintos 1,094, Almond Aldrian 1,038, Alvin Elser Naftali 1,006.
Women's Air Pistol: 1 Siti Sarah Ibrahim (PMKL) 367, 2 Leong Wai Si
(Perak) 363, 3 Haslinda Hassan (Sar) 360.
Air Pistol Team: 1 Sarawak - Haslinda Nosan (360, Agnes Taiji (352),
Christine Helen (351); 2 KMPP - Joseline Cheah (356), Se Lim Ai Lin (354),
Leong Ho Ming (349); 3 Selangor - Leong Wai Si (363), Nur Fatihah Zolkefle
(345), Noor Asmah Ishak (338).
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Nur Suryani shoots down junior record

10/11/2001

NUR SURYANI Taibi of Perak, 19, was in smashing form at the Subang
Shooting Range yesterday when she cracked the national juniors record
enroute to a three gold and a silver medal haul.
On Thursday, she equalled the national juniors air rifle record with 391
points.
Yesterday she rewrote the smallbore rife three position record with 566
points in the SportExcel-NSC-NSAM Junior Champion-ships. The old mark of
565 was done by Lim I Vern of Selangor in April this year.
She then won gold in the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy small bore rifle three
position by firing 660.7 points. She upstaged her more illustrious team-
mate Nurul Hudda Baharin, who finished seventh with 558 points, and later
withdrew from the final round because her arm started giving her problems.
Nurul fractured her arm just before the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth
Games and the old injury forced her to withdraw yesterday.
Felix Ho, former national coach and now coaching the Perak squad, said
Nur Suryani has started making progress and her future looks bright.
"She helped the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games team win a silver and a gold, and
today (yesterday) she consolidated her position for the 2002 Commonwealth
Games with a steady hand. If she continues her form in the other
qualifiers, she will make the Games squad," said Ho.
Nur Suryani's other gold was from the Small Bore Rifle Three Position
team event in the junior category and her silver was from Small Bore Rifle
Three Position team event in the senior category.
RESULTS - Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy: Men's Air Rifle Individual: 1 Mohamed
Zainul Akmal (Kel) 687.2, 2 Mohamed Emran Zakaria (Police) 683.4, 3 Azhari
Abdullah (Police) 677.7.
Standard Pistol Individual: 1 Leong Jia Chyuan (Sel) 550, 2 Baharuddin
Hashim (Kel) 548, 3 Marzuki Man (Police) 541.
Standard Pistol Team: 1 Police - Marzuki Man (541), Abdul Rahim Rajuli
(538), Darham Ali (531); 2 Kelantan - Baharuddin Hashim (548), Zakaria
Ishal (538), Mohamed Saipuddin Yusoff (482); 3 Armed Forces - Zulkifli
Ismail (531), Nazaruddin Galok (521), Mohamed Sany Ghazali (514).
Double Trap Individual: 1 Edward Khor Seng Chye (JCT) 154, 2 Ong Chee
Kheng (Sel) 146, 3 Raymond Yap (JCT) 141.
Women's small bore rifle three position: 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Perak)
660.7 points, 2 Nordalilah Abu Bakar (Police) 658.8, 3 Sarihati Awang
Akhbar (Police) 6550.0.
Small Bore Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Police - Ann Chew (543), Nurul
Hudda Baharin 558, Nordalilah Abu Bakar (569); 2 Perak - Nur Suryani Taibi
(566), Nur Husna Sharuddin (530), Rohayu Nayan (524); 3 Sarawak -
Veronica Eileen (513), Betty Tapeh (544), Imabel Yvonne Tiong (545).
SportExcel-NSC-MILO-NSAM Championships: Men's air rifle team: 1 Mohamed
Zainul Akmal (Kel) 587, 2 Ivan Jayavenkatesh (Sel) 572, 3 Wang Wen Chuen
(Sel) 571.
Air Rifle Team: 1 Selangor - Ivan Jayavenkatesh (572), Wang Wen Chuen
(571), Ong Poh Teck (570); 2 Kelantan - Mohamed Zainul Akmal (587),
Khairul Nizam Sidek (566), Asri Mohamed (553); 3 Armed Forces - Mohamed
Emran Zakaria (581), Ahmad Yaacob (561), Ismail Diran (557).
Standard Pistol Individual: 1 Leong Jia Chyuan (Sel) 550, 2 Nicholas Aw
Kai Foong (sel) 506, 3 Hafiza Adzha (Perak) 505.
Standard Pistol Team: 1 Selangor - Leong Jia Chyuan (550), Nicholas Aw
Kai Foong (506), Omar Sheriff (489); 2 Johor - Zulhakim Aman (505),
Mohamed Radi Wahad (456), Mohamed Syawal Othman (432).
Women's Small Bore Rifle Three Position Team: 1 Perak - Nur Suryani
Taibi (566, national juniors record), Nur Husna Sharuddin (530), Rohayu
Nayan (524); 2 Pahang - Nasrena Nazaruddin (535), Siti Nurazreen Eliana
(533), Norain Ibrahim (528); 3 Sarawak - Imabel Yvonne Tiong (545), Sorea
Tiror (522), Veronica Eileen (513).
Small Bore Rifle Three Position Individual: 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Perak)
566, 2 Imabel Yvonne Tiong (Sarawak) 545, 3 Mariani Rafali (kel) 541.
jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Nurul back in the Games saddle

09/11/2001

KUALA LUMPUR Commonwealth Games gold medallist Nurul Hudda Baharin
equalled her air rifle national record at the Tun Tan Siew Sin trophy
yesterday to signal her intention of making the 2002 Manchester
Commonwealth Games squad.
Shooting at the the National Shooting Range in Subang, Nurul fired 394
points in the classification rounds and in the Grand Final, she fired
another 99.1 points for a total of 493.1 for the gold.
Her previous record of 394 was done at the '98 Commonwealth Games at the
Langkawi Shooting Range.
In the SportExcel-NSC-NSAM tournament, Nur Suryani Mohamed Talib of
Penang equalled the National Juniors air rifle record when she shot 391
points. The previous mark of 391 points was shot by Nina Ismawati of
Selangor in 1999.
Her effort, combined with the scores of Rohayu Nayan (386) and Nur Husna
Sharuddin (384) cracked the national juniors air rifle team record with a
total of 1,161 points. The previous 1998 mark of 1,159 belonged to
Selangor shooters Noormimi Jailani, Lim Mi Mi and Mashita Ramli.
"After the Sea Games, where she also won a gold medal in the event,
Nurul continued training and today (yesterday) she fired her best round
since the '98 Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games," said National Shooting
Association of Malaysia executive secretary Mej Jasni Shaari yesterday.
The Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy is part of the selection process for the
2002 Commonwealth Games and also the Asian Games in Pusan.
"We have started preparing the shooters for the Commonwealth and the
Asian Games because Malaysia want to make an impact at the international
arena.
"Their next tournament will be the Tun Haniff Trophy on Dec 27-30 and
next year we have another three local tournaments which will be part of
the selection process," said Jasni.
A total of RM500,000 will be needed to prepare the shooters for the
Asian and Commonwelath Games.
TUN TAN SIEW SIN TROPHY RESULTS: Men's rapid fire pistol - 1 Mohamed
Firdaus Rahim (Pahang) 656.3 points, 2 Hasli Izwan Amin (Penang) 650.1, 3
Nicholas Aw Kai Fong (Selangor) 646.0.
Rapid Fire Pistol Team: 1 Kelantan - Ong Ho Sheng (548), Ahmad Faiz Azmi
(537), Mohamed Saipuddin (529); 2 Penang - Hasli Izwan Amin (560), Hafiz
Adzha (512), A. Rajini Kumar (483); 3 Pahang - Mohamed Firdaus (562),
Mohamed Khalis (484), Syamsudin Sukemi (476).
Small Bore Free Rifle Prone: 1 Mohamed Sabiki (Armed Forces) 688.0, 2
Mohamed Emran Zakaria (Armed Forces) 683.9, 3 Khairulnizam Sidek
(Kelantan) 683.6.
Small Bore Free Rifle Prone Team: 1 Armed Forces - Mohamed Sabiki (586),
Mohamed Emran Zakaria (583), Ismail Diran (580); 2 Kelantan - Khairulnizam
Sidek (587), 2 Mohamed Zainul Akmal (579), Asri Mohamed (572), 3 Selangor
- Wang Weng Chuen (582), Ivan Jayavenkatesh Rao (580), Ong Poh Teck (562).
Free Pistol Individual: 1 Mohamed Hashim Desa (Police) 619.8, 2
Baharuddin Hashim (Kelantan) 602.0, 3 Mohamed Syahrul (KMPP) 600.2.
Free Pistol Team: Police - Mohamed Hashim Desa (527), Marzuki Man (512),
Darham Azli (485); 2 Kelantan - Baharuddin Hashim (517), Zakaria Ishak
(487), Wan Abdul Rahman (484); 3 Selangor - Leong Jia Chyuan (511), Mark
Seng (497), Nazri Sulaiman (469).
Women's Individual Air Rifle - 1 Nurul Hudda Baharin (police) 493.1 pts,
2 Ann Chiew (Police) 490.7, 3 Noriha Abdul Rani (Armed Forces) 490.7.
Team Air Rifle: 1 Police - Nurul Hudda Baharin (394 points), Ann Chiew
(390), Asmayuzy Mat Amin (381); 2 Penang - Nur Suryani Taibi (391), Rohayu
Nayan (386), Nur Husna Sharuddin (384); 2 Armed Forces - Noriha Abdul Rani
(389), Norzalini Shafie (384), Masniza Maizan (365).
SPORTEXCEL-NSC-NSAM RESULTS: Men's Rapid Fire Pistol - 1 Mohamed Firdaus
Rahim (Pahang) 562, 2 Nicholas Aw Kai Fong (Selangor) 558, 3 Ong Ho Sheng
(Kelantan) 548.
Small Bore Free Rifle Prone Individual: 1 Khairulnizam Sidek (Kelantan)
587, 2 Wang Wen Chuen (Selangor) 582, 3 Ivan Jayavenkatesh (Selangor) 580.
Small Bore Free Rifle Prone Team: 1 Kelantan - Khairulnizam Sidek,
Mohamed Zainul, Asri Mohamed; 2 Selangor - Wang Wen Chuen, Ivan
Jayavenkatesh, Ong Poh Teck; 3 Pahang - Mohamed Suhaimi, Mohamed
Badlishah, Mohamed Azani.
Free Pistol: 1 Mohamed Syahrul (KMPP) 515, 2 Leong Jia Chyuan (Selangor)
511, 3 Syamsudin Sukemi (Pahang) 500.
Free Pistol Team: 1 Pahang - Syamsudin Sukemi, Mohamed Firdaus, Ahmad
Azahid; 2 Sarawak - Bibit Nyoged, Joshua Kai, Mushaldi Saruji; 3 Selangor
- Leong Jia Chyuan, Nicholas Aw Kai Foong, Noor Harizan Khuri.
Women's Air Rifle Individual - 1 Nur Suryani Taibi (Penang) 391, 2 Goh
Lyk Chwuen (KMPP) 386, 3 Mashita Ramli (Selangor) 386.
Air Rifle Team: 1 Penang - Nur Suryani Taibi, Rohayu Nayan, Nur Husna
Sharuddin, 2 Pahang - Norlita Omar, Siti Nurazreen Eliana, Norain Ibrahim,
3 KMPP - Goh Lyk Chwuen, Muslifah Zulkifli, Sharifah Shahida.
* jugjet@nstp.com.my
(END)

Veteran Teh eyeing Brunei slot

05/03/1999

WITH rifle and pistol events being scrapped from the Brunei Sea Games in
August, skeet and trap shooters will take centre stage at the Tun Haniff
Omar Cup starting today at the Subang Shooting Range.
And veteran skeet campaigner Richard Teh aims to grab the opportunity.
Teh, who last donned national colours in 1991 and won a team gold at the
Philippines Sea Games, wants to be among the six the National Shooting
Association of Malaysia (NSAM) will name to the Brunei Games.
"After the Philippines Games I had to stop active participation for
personal reasons. Now I am back and the first thing to do is win medals at
the Brunei Games and then prepare for the 2001 Games," said Teh.
Shooting won four golds at the 1997 Games in Jakarta, but Brunei will
only have the clay target, individual skeet and trap, and double trap
events - a blessing as far as Teh is concerned.
For the 35-year-old scuba diving instructor, who has been a regular at
the range of late, the Tun Hanif Cup will be his first major tournament
since 1991.
"Judging by current form, I pick Goh Kek Chuan and Ricky Chee as sure
bets for Brunei so that leaves only one skeet ticket which I aim to
claim," said Teh.
The golden shooters in Jakarta were Azmi Zakaria (10m air rifle
individual); Azmi, Abdul Mutalib Razak and Aziz Berahim (10m air rifle
team); Nurul Hudda Baharin (50m sport pistol individual) and Nurul,
Roslina Bakar and Sarihati Awang Akhbar (50m sport pistol team).
With indoor events out in the cold, Malaysia will not be able to defend
the four golds won at the Jakarta Games.
They may be out of the Sea Games but Nurul and and company are likely to
compete in seven major international shooting championships this year,
with the Tun Haniff Cup as the curtain raiser.
"The NSAM Council will meet next week and, among others, we will decide
on international assignments," said NSAM assistant secretary Mej Jasni
Shaari.
Nurul, who finished third behind Roslina Bakar and Noriha Rani in the
last Tun Hanif Cup, will take part in the air rifle today and is expected
to come out tops.
Today (all finals at 2pm): Air rifle, rapid fire pistol, free pistol,
trap, skeet, air rifle; Tomorrow: Air pistol, centre fire pistol, small
bore free rifle prone, trap, skeet, small bore rifle three-position,
standard pistol.
(END)

UIT blow to Irina

12/09/1998

THE International Shooting Federation (UIT) are taking disciplinary action
against Irina Maharani and this means Malaysia's golden medal hope cannot
take part in the Commonwealth Games in Langkawi.
A Malaysian since three months ago, former Ukrainian Irina is facing
action because she did not get clearance from UIT when she competed in the
World Championships in Barcelona in July.
The National Sports Council (NSC) hired Irina, a 1986 world champion in
the sport pistol, to help prepare the Malaysian shooting squad for the
Commonwealth Games.
She raised Malaysian hopes when she finished ninth in Barcelona, the
best finisher from the Commonwealth countries.
But the necessary paperwork had not been done.
The Malaysian authorities - the National Sports Council (NSC), who
decided to enter her for Barcelona, and the National Shooting Association
of Malaysia (NSAM) - failed to get clearance from UIT.
Irina, who was born in Ukraine, represented the former Soviet Union. She
had also represented the Soviet Republics of Ukraine and Russia.
UIT regulations require that a shooter must be a citizen for three years
before she can represent the country. Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)
regulations require a three-year residential status.
Another way around the UIT regulation was for her former shooting
federation to give her the release to shoot for Malaysia.
But NSC did not think that it was necessary to obtain the release from
Ukraine and Russia - the USSR have since ceased to exist - to shoot in
Barcelona.
Apparently they had not sought the advice of NSAM and neither did NSAM
see it fit to advise NSC accordingly.
Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) vice-chairman Datuk Alex Lee said
yesterday that Malaysia have been advised by UIT to keep her out pending
disciplinary action.
"The CGF sought clarification from UIT and they told us both she and the
Malaysian Shooting Federation (NSAM) face possible disciplinary action.
"Both contravened UIT regulations when they failed to get clearance to
field her in the world championships."
The letter from UIT, signed by Fung Lok Nam, their technical delegate,
was sent to CGF legal advisor Sharad Rao.
With Irina ruled out, and Nurul Huda Bahrin still on the mend after
fracturing her right arm in two places, Malaysia's chances of winning a
shooting medal look remote.
Nurul, who fractured her arm in a motorcycle accident last month, was
originally down to shoot in three events - air rifle, sport rifle three
position and sport rifle prone. She is now only entered for the air rifle.
(END)

Hameleay shines for Selangor

26/10/1998

SELANGOR shooters kept their promise of a clean sweep at the second
SportExcel Air Gun junior championships at the Subang range yesterday.
The Selangor charge was led by Mohamed Hameleay Mutalib, who shot down
his own meet record enroute to winning the air rifle individual event.
He then helped Selangor win the team gold as well, which brought their
final gold tally to eight after two days of competition.
The response to the junior championships, entering its third year, was
so good that SportExcel executive director Teng Mui Ngee is seriously
looking at making it into a full circuit next year.
"Instead of the present two legs, I think it would be better if we have
more circuits and conclude with a Grand Final," said Teng.
RESULTS - Boys' air rifle individual: 1 Mohamed Hameleay Mutalib (Sel)
582 pts (meet rec), 2 Mohamed Faizal (KL), 3 Lim Choon Hong 562 (Sel);
Team: 1 Selangor (Mohamed Hameleay Mutalib, Lim Choon Hong, Ong Poh Teck)
1,695pts, 2 Kuala Lumpur (Mohamed Faizal, Khairul Azhar, Anuar Ramlan)
1,651, 3 Kedah (Zamir Taib, Ahmad Zamzuri, Mohamed Hafizi).
Girls' air rifle individual: 1 Julia Ong Bee Suan (Sel) 359 pts, 2 Wong
Khar Hin (Pg) 352, 3 Dahlia Vehicle (Sel) 351; Team: 1 Selangor (Julia Ong
Bee Suan, Dahlia Vehicle, Kuan Chin Yi) 1,050pts, 2 Penang (Wong Khar Hin,
Wong Mooi Ying, Ang Chuan Yin) 1,040, 3 Kuala Lumpur (Darmini Reddy,
Shahira Shahar, Siti Haneem) 1,021.
(END)

Nurul confident of gold

29/11/1998

NURUL Huda Bharin's arm is still giving her problems but the Kedah-born
shooter is confident of pulling off an upset at the Asian Games.
She is still undergoing physiotherapy for her arm which was broken a
week before the Kuala Lumpur Commonwealth Games. The broken arm didn't
prevent her from winning the air rifle gold.
Nurul is back in training and is shooting practice rounds of 493. She
had shot a record 493.3 for her Commonwealth gold.
"I feel good. As for the rest of the field, I don't know how good they
are," said the policewoman after receiving the Olympian of The Year Award
on Friday.
"But this is how I like it. The less I know about the rest, the more
confident I will be when the time comes to shoot."
The other shooters for Bangkok are Emran Zakaria, Abdul Mutalib, Aziz
Brahim, Roslina Bakar and Sarihati Awang.
(END)