Still the one to beat

ON TARGET: Nur Suryani wins gold and Commonwealth Games ticket

SHOOTER Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi proved she is still the one to beat after not only bagging yet another gold on the final day of the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy but also qualifying for her second event at this year's Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

  Representing Armed Forces, Nur Suryani showed the wealth of experience  at her disposal as she revelled in front of a partisan crowd at the Subang Shooting Range to seal victory in the women's 10-metre air rifle individual event with a commendable 205.3 in the elimination format final.
  Forces' teammate Shahera Rahim Raja, who recently gave birth to her first child, came a close second with 204.0 while Malacca's Nur Farah Afiqah Mohd Taufekh took the bronze on 180.9.
   Nur Suryani's score of 417.3 in the preliminaries also saw her beat the Commonwealth Games qualifying mark of 392 for the discipline.

   She had earlier, in the competition, qualified for Glasgow in the 50m prone.
   The 32-year-old, who had also won the three-positions individual title earlier in the event, said it was an enjoyable outing for her yesterday.

    "I think the crowd was really great today. There were a lot of supporters to cheer us in the final which was a huge difference compared to the Selangor Shooting Championships last month." said Nur Suryani, who gained worldwide media attention after competing while pregnant in the London Olympics two years ago.

    "I am happy to qualify for my second Commonwealth Games event after the 50m prone but I know there is still a lot I must improve.

    "I will be competing in the Armed Forces Inter-Services and Ally T.H Ong Trophy next month and perhaps the Asian Airgun Championships. Hopefully I can do better there."
 As expected, Forces' (Nur Suryani, Shahera, Haslisa Hamed) also bagged the team gold in the event with a combined 1,236.

   Pahang (Nur Ayuni Farhana Abd Halim, Nur Aimi Hanis Abdul Halim, Faezah Abdul Aziz) finished second on 1,220 while Selangor (Nur Syahirah Ahmad Nadzeri, Juain Izni Zamil, Norizahamalisa Ramli) clinched the bronze with 1,197.

     Alia Sazana Azhari (Terengganu) won the women's 25m pistol gold with a new national record  when she managed to fire 17-7, bettering the old mark set by Bibiana Ng (Police) of 14-7 last year.
    Bibiana took silver on 13-5 while Joseline Cheah (Forces) finished third with 11-8.
   Forces emerged overall champions of the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy with a 15 gold, four silver and eight bronze haul. Johor (5-2-0) and Pahang (2-7-0) were placed second and third respectively.
  


RESULTS -- Men's 50m pistol individual: 1 Eddy Chew (Johor) 189.5, 2 Jasmi Mohd Zin (Negri Sembilan) 185.3, 3 Siau Zianyi (Perak) 162.5.

   Women's 25m pistol team: 1 Armed Forces (Siti Nur Masitah Badrin, Joseline Cheah, Mazniza Maizan) 1,680, 2 Police (Bibiana Ng, Sharifah Zalina Syed Zirazilah, Nurzaini Ismail) 1,672, 3 Selangor (Aida Amirah Omar Sheriff, Nur Zunaira Zakaria, Nur Hidayah Zulkifli) 1,656.
   Team, 50m  pistol: 1 Johor (Choo Wen Yan, Eddy Chew, Nor Afiffuddin Nordin) 1,546, 2 Pahang (Abdul Hadi Abdul Malik, Shadiq Hanif June Hassan, Luqman Nul Hakim) 1,546, 3 Malacca (Jonathan Wong Guanjie, Ifwat Abqari Mohd Isa, Muhammad Din Maidin) 1,525.

Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi (left) in action in the 10m air rifle at the Tun Tan Siew Sin Trophy in Subang yesterday. Pic by Hasriyasyah Sabudin

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