Archers (from left) Cheng Chu Sian, Marbawi Sulaiman and Wan Mohamed Khalmizan have booked their berths for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
ARCHERY and lawn bowls were among the minor sports which met with considerable success in 2007, a year when shooting and sepak takraw continued their downward spiral.
| Hasli Izwan Amir Hassan won only silver in the 25m rapid fire pistol. |
| Moh Keen Ho will be going to UK for training and also to play in the UK Challenge tour. |
| Qabil Ambak won four gold medals at the Sea Games for the second time. |
| Siti Zalina Ahmad had to settle for silver in the singles in her third Sea Games. |
Of late, Chu Sian has shown marked improvement and if he can maintain his form, will have a fighting chance to finish in the top eight next year in Beijing. Chu Sian proved that he is a class above the region's top archers when he beat Khalmizan to retain the individual recurve gold medal in the Korat Sea Games.
With Chu Sian and Khalmizan in fine form, Malaysia also clinched the team gold and although they are not considered medal prospects in Beijing, a creditable finish in the individual and team events can be expected.
Lawn bowls in which Malaysia is among the world's elite, was a sure thing in the Sea Games but winning four of six gold medals on offer could have disappointed a few.
However, the Sea Games is no longer the benchmark for the lawn bowlers and instead their focus should be on winning honours in the World Championships and Commonwealth Games on a regular basis.
The shooters fell short of their Sea Games four-gold target winning just two gold, three silver and six bronze medals. The biggest disappointment was Hasli Izwan Amir Hassan who was favoured to defend his 25m rapid fire pistol gold but forced to settle for silver.
However, Hasli made amends when he broke his national record of 579 by registering 581 in the Asian Championships a week later in Kuwait to earn a silver medal.
His performance also earned him a place in the Olympics and Hasli's achievement was the only highlight in a rather poor season for the shooters.
The Malaysian challengers were tipped to give hosts Thailand a run for their money in sepak takraw's inter regu but let down the country when they withdrew from the Games at the 11th hour.
The Malaysian Sepak Takraw Association (MSTA) has protested the organisers' use of new sepak takraw balls but one can't help thinking it was a lame excuse.
The Sea Games was Malaysia's biggest stage for basketball and they had a decent outing with the women winning gold in a nail-biting 61-60 victory over hosts Thailand after extra-time, while the men returned with bronze.
Billiards and snooker is another sport which seems to have lost its direction with Moh Keen Ho's solitary Sea Games gold medal in the snooker singles being the saving grace.
Thailand has world class players in snooker and billiards while the Philippines has regularly produced world champions in pool and, this is possible due to the players willingness to train and compete in professional events abroad.
As a reward, Keen Ho will be going to the United Kingdom for training and will also play in the UK Challenge tour to earn his ticket to play in the professional tournaments. This will be an ideal test of character for the 19-year-old player.
China's Ding Junhui, ranked World No 9, is currently the only Asian to have had success at the highest level which could explain the tough environment of the professional circuit.
Unless Keen Ho is willing to make sacrifices and make Europe his permanent base, he may have to be consigned to Sea Games level or at best, Asian Games level.
Equestrian and polo have always been for the elite as each requires enormous funding and despite Malaysia winning a total of five gold medals in Korat, it's hard to envision either sport expanding in the country. Qabil Ambak Mahamad Fathil, despite winning four gold medals for a second time in the Sea Games, has yet to make an impact on the world stage and as long as he fails to become one of the best in the global arena, he may not be able raise the profile of his sport.
Tennis is another sport which is in the pits and Malaysia's continuous struggle to win a medal in the Sea Games explains the sorry state of affairs in the LTA of Malaysia (LTAM). Its failure to focus on development has left the nation without any emerging talent.
In fact, lack of talent has been a major problem with the LTAM for more than a decade or why else would 38-year-old full-time tennis coach V. Selvam still remain the No 1 player in the country?
Bodybuilding in the country could do with a boost as it did not gain a single medal in the Sea Games and this is surprising when Malaysia can boast of having a three-time Mr Universe in Sazali Abdul Samad.
The NSC also should reconsider its decision to send athletes from events like softball, baseball, judo, handball, water polo and dance sports as the athletes not only struggle to win medals but sometimes their performances border on embarrassment.
NST
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