CJMY
Malaysian traditional archery team created history by bagging multiple awards at the Third World Traditional Archery Championship, which took place in Gyula, Hungary.
The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Malaysia to Hungary, HE Francisco Munis, was also present to support and encourage the Malaysian traditional archery team.
Munis said he is immensely proud of the Malaysian delegation’s achievements as they made history by winning third and fourth place for the adult male category.
Furthermore, the team bagged second and fourth place for the junior female category, fourth for the junior male category, fourth for the group category and top ten for the veteran category.
“I am very excited to witness the dedication of our traditional archery athletes.
“They were fully dressed in traditional clothes and competing on historical grounds in Hungary.
“Our athletes seem to be very able and competitive. We must continuously support the efforts of our athletes,” said Munis.
The organiser of this tournament, HDH International Archery Association (HDH-IAA), also appointed the first International Traditional Archery Judge from Malaysia and Asia.
The appointment aims to develop the sport in Malaysia and the region to ensure compliance with international traditional archery standards.
In the adult male category, Saharuddin Mohd Hassan, 34, recorded 292 points making him the third place winner.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Alrafaie, 44, recorded the second highest point of the tournament with 318 marks, placing the contestant in fourth place based on a new scoring system introduced by the organisers.
Saharuddin said he is honoured to compete with the world’s greatest archers gathered in this championship.
“They appear to use wooden or natural arrows equipped with heavy bows. However, locally made bows could match those produced in Europe,” he said.
Furthermore, Siti Nur Aisyah Yusup, 17, was the second-place winner in the long-distance event.
“I was almost disqualified from competing due to technical errors, and the bow I used did not comply with the tournament’s specifications.
“I was lucky enough to be allowed to rectify my mistakes,” said Siti Nur Aisyah, whose father is also a traditional archer.
The win, according to her, fulfilled her late father’s dream of her successfully competing internationally.
Dhia Darwisya, 16, and Thaqif Hifzhan, 14, came in fourth place in their respective categories in the Junior Traditional Archery event.
They said: “We have trained hard and came fourth among the
best in the world. We started with bows with a light draw, and now we use bows comparable to adult archers.”
Finally, Ismail Abd Kadir, 60 years old, was among the top ten best veteran archers in the world, finishing in ninth place.
“I started practising traditional archery a few months ago.
“I was genuinely concerned about my age competing against world champions.
Praise God as I trained under the supervision of other team members, and I achieved my dream. Age is not a factor as there is strength in archery.” he added.
Anuar Faiq Mat Saat, newly appointed Official International Judge for traditional archery under the HDH-IAA and Secretary of the Malaysian Traditional Archers Association (PERTAMA), was also elated at the success.
“We must ensure our archers comply with international standards and laws.
“I aim to ensure that our traditional archery athletes are world-class. With exemplary leadership and support, we can achieve continuous success as we did before with Ahmad Alrafaei,” said Anuar.
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