Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Shooter Nur Ayuni gets early Raya cheer


National rifle shooter Nur Ayuni Farhana with the 50m 3-position gold medal she won at the recent Singapore SEA Games. - Filepic
National rifle shooter Nur Ayuni Farhana with the 50m 3-position gold medal she won at the recent Singapore SEA Games. - Filepic

KUALA LUMPUR: National rifle shooter Nur Ayuni Farhana Abdul Hamid has received an early Hari Raya cheer.

The 25-year-old Ayuni has been selected to compete in the World Cup in Azerbaijian from Aug 6-16, giving her a shot at qualifying for next year’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics.

Besides Ayuni, the National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) also picked pistol shooter Alia Sazana Azahari for the Azerbaijan meet.

The 25-year-old Ayuni was given the nod for winning the women’s 50m rifle three-position gold at last month’s Singapore SEA Games.

Ayuni said the SEA Games breakthrough had given her a huge morale booster.
Prior to winning her first SEA Games gold, Ayuni’s form was inconsistent and she also suffered from self-doubt.

“Despite working hard over the years, I used to struggle to complement it with good results. But the gold at the SEA Games has now given me lots of hope and confidence,” said Ayuni, who made her SEA Games debut in Laos in 2009.

Now that she has regained her self-belief, Ayuni is determined to go all out to seal an Olympic ticket.
“I will be going to Azerbaijan with lots of confidence. I have never made it to the top eight in the World Cup and, hopefully, I will make it this time,” she said.

But before that, Ayuni will take a short break on Tuesday to celebrate Hari Raya with her family in Kuantan.

“I have been training hard this whole fasting month. Now I want to spend some time with my family. I cannot wait to try my mother’s delicious cooking,” said Ayuni, who is optimistic this season will be the best in her shooting career.


 by Rajes Paul - The Star

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