Pregnant Suryani may have to drop 50m rifle three-positions

PREGNANT shooter Nur Suryani Taibi still has a shot at competing in the London Olympics this year.

Nur Suryani Taibi has qualified for two events at the London Olympics

National Sports Council (NSC) director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong disclosed that National Sports Institute director-general Datuk Dr Ramlan Aziz said that from a medical perspective, Nur Suryani, who is currently three months pregnant, should have no problem competing at the Games which starts in late July.

   "Dr Ramlan said that being five to seven months pregnant would be better than being in the first two months of pregnancy as she would already have been able to adapt to the physical changes that occur," said Zolkples after attending the SportExcel-NSC-Milo national junior circuit launch at the Royal Selangor Club, Bukit Kiara yesterday.

   "Nur Suryani herself had stated that she wants to compete at the Games. However, the decision whether to send her or not will depend on her condition at the time.

   "We will keep tabs on her progress but at the same time make preparations should she decide to pull out at the last minute. If we do have to replace her,  it will most likely be Nur Ayuni (Farhana Abdul Halim) who will take her place."

   Zolkples, however, said that if Nur Suryani, who qualified for two events at the Games, does compete she will most likely have to drop the 50m rifle three-positions due to the prone position being difficult for her being pregnant.

   Nur Suryani, 28, discovered she was pregnant during the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha in January where she secured Olympic qualification in the 10m air rifle event.



NST