Petanque trio fire on target, bag three medals for Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia made a bright start at the Asian Petanque Championships, bagging two silver and one bronze in precision shooting on Friday.

Nur Iman Aina Ahmad Sabti and Harith Muhaimin Hafaizul claimed silver in the women’s and junior categories respectively.

Veteran Nuzul Azwan Ahmad Temizi added a bronze in the men’s event at the Arena Petanque Kuala Lumpur.

Malaysia narrowly missed out on gold but showed encouraging form ahead of next month’s SEA Games in Thailand.

Aina edged Vietnam’s Thach Thi Anh Lan 30-18 in the semi-finals before losing 27-22 to Indonesia’s Anni Saputri.

It was her first outing in precision shooting after years competing in triples events.

“It was my first time qualifying for a shooting final, so it was quite challenging,” said Aina.

“My opponent was very strong — she even beat the Thai world champion earlier — but I gave everything.

“This silver means a lot, and I’ll fight even harder for gold at the SEA Games.”

In the junior category, 15-year-old Harith of SMK Muadzam Shah, Pahang, edged Japan’s Koiwa Toshihiro 20-16 to reach the final before losing 29-26 to Cambodia’s Nun Ravin.

“My form dropped a bit today, but I gave my best,” said Harith.

“This motivates me to aim higher in future tournaments.”

In the men’s event, Nuzul Azwan, 37, lost 27-19 to Taiwan’s Wu Kun Yu in the semi-finals.

Kun Yu later went down 44-30 to Thailand’s Khamdee Ratchata in the final.

A top-eight finisher at last year’s World Championships in France, Nuzul said the result was valuable preparation.

“Technically, everything’s fine, but mentally I need to be stronger in crucial moments,” he said.

The championships continue with triples preliminaries today before concluding with medal playoffs on Sunday.

© New Straits Times Press (M) Bhd

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