KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — National archer Khairul Anuar Mohamad ended the ranking round of the men’s individual recurve event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 20th spot at the Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo today.
The 2014 Incheon Asian Games silver medallist shot 72 arrows to collect 661 points while South Korean Kim Je Deok came out tops with 688 points.
The 29-year-old Khairul Anuar, who is ranked 15th in the world, is scheduled to take on Finland’s Antti Vikstrom in the first round on Wednesday (July 28).
However, the national archery squad’s hopes of advancing to the first round of the mixed team event were dashed after Malaysia failed to finish among the top 16. They came in 19th out of 29 competing countries.
What is more disappointing is that the Malaysian team finished just six points behind 16th-placed Bangladesh. Malaysia amassed 1,291 points – courtesy of Khairul Anuar’s 661 points and Syaqiera Mashayikh’s 619 points from the women’s event earlier today.
Meanwhile, South Korea set a new Olympic record in the mixed team event after Je Deok and woman archer An San combined for a 1,368 total.
Earlier in the ranking round of the women’s individual recurve event, Syaqiera, who became the first Malaysian athlete to be in action at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, finished in 43rd spot with a personal best of 619 points. Syaqiera will face Russian Elena Osipova in the first round on Tuesday (July 27).
— Bernama
