Olympic Dream: Aiming to draw first blood

HASLI Izwan is a portly chap, who will not receive a second look on a street.

But put a pistol in his hand, and you better be more than 25 metres away because he can place the bullet right between the eyes.

The 31-year-old manager of the Langkawi International Shooting Range (LISRAM) will be competing in his first Olympics, but he hopes not his last.

“In Beijing, my aim is to get a good placing, preferably in the top-15 bracket. And then I will keep on shooting until I win an Olympic medal, as age is no barrier in this sport,” said Hasli.

His love for shooting blossomed in 1994 when the sport was introduced in the Malaysia Games. Hasli represented Perak and fell head-over-heels in love with his pistol.

“The Malaysia Games were fun but it was tough breaking into the national team as there were many established shooters in my field. I got my break in 1997 and have smashed a few records since.” His personal best is 581 points which he did at the Asian Shooting Championship in Kuwait last year which earned him a ticket to Beijing on merit.

But the score is way behind that of the top Rapid Fire Pistol shooters around the world.

A check with the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) website listed Christian Reitz from Germany as the World No 1 while Hasli’s name was not among the top-50 listed.

It will be a monumental task for Hasli in Beijing as his discipline involves a regime of four series of five shots, and the series will each be in four seconds.

“If I think about the odds, I might as well stay home. But I am not worried as I gain my strength from prayers and my family.

“Thinking about my son and daughter, always helps calm my nerves, and that is what one needs to win a medal in the Olympics.” He was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games, and if nothing else, experience will be on his side.

He is also the first Malaysian shooter to have qualified on merit for the Olympics.

NST