History-maker Malaysian women to rely on their fighting spirit

Until few months ago, Olympics seemed like an impossible dream for Malaysia’s newly paired recurve women’s team.

Ariana Zairi, Nurul Fazil and Syaqiera Mashayikh were just gelling with each other, knowing each other’s diverse personalities, strengths and weaknesses. They had played together just three tournaments till then.

But beyond everyone’s expectations, the young team evolved as a competitive one in a span of just five months – only to make history in Antalya.

For the first time, Malaysia has a recurve women’s team at the Olympics – after being predominantly represented by their men archers in the past.

The dynamics changed for the Paris 2024 Olympics after their men archers failed to make the cut for the Games for the first time in 16 years. Their women archers carries the hopes of the South-east Asian nation in Invalides, instead.

The excitement is huge in the camp, and so does the motivation to make the most of this opportunity in Paris.

“It’s a huge achievement for us Malaysians,” said an elated Zairi, who had made earlier booked a slot for Malaysia in women’s individual with her golden effort at continental championships in Bangkok.

“This is my most memorable moment in the sport ever.”

Mashayikh, the most experienced and senior among the three, awaited this moment after her Olympic debut in Tokyo 2020 as the third Malaysian woman archer to feature in an Olympics after Mon Redee Ap Sut Txi in Athens 2004 and Nurul Syafiqah Hashim in London 2012.

“I’m very proud of my team because together we have made history as the first Malaysian women’s team to qualify for the Olympics,” said 23-year-old Mashayikh.

“We didn’t think we could achieve this so soon, with the other teams ranked higher than us. The milestone in Antalya sends a strong message to any opponents we may face in the future: we are not an easy team to defeat.”

On the other hand, Fazil felt that the achievement will pave way for upcoming female archers in Malaysia.

“This will give hope for further progress in the sport on a national level,” said the 20-year-old.

The trio started training together only in January 2024 after Ariana booked the individual Olympic quota in Bangkok.

The last five months was about improving the technical skills, physical conditioning, mental toughness and competition readiness through two sessions at Malaysia’s centralised training base in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan.

Specialised training was also put in place to improve the archers’ shooting skills and strengthen the mentality.

The effort from the coaches and support staffs were crucial too so was the role of Malaysia archery association.

“The continuous training, even on weekends, underscores the sacrifices made to achieve this milestone, especially with the three of us being full-time university students playing for the Olympics,” explained the 18-year-old Zairi.

And there was gradual improvement in scores in the first two stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup this year, in Shanghai and Yecheon.

Antalya marked the watershed moment for the team, where they went on to grab the silver medal after forcing a shoot-off against top seeds China in the final qualifier.

They had defeated Great Britain and Colombia on their way to the medal match. This followed an upset win in the quarterfinals over the Chinese women recurve team, who had been gold medallist at the first two stages.

“It’s all about communication among teammates,” said Zairi. “During the matches, we were able to read each other’s emotions and knew how to control the situation.”

Fazil further detailed that the process to build a strong communication was still challenging at first.

“We had to discover each other’s diverse personalities, understand behaviours to develop ways for teamwork, and foster a strong team cohesion.”

Now, the team is on the shooting line in Invalides, ending a 68-year wait of the nation at the Olympics.

Their expectations aren’t very high – they know they are up against experienced teams who have delivered at the biggest stage of the sport.

Their focus is gaining meaningful and rewarding experiences in Paris to continue their rise in archery in the future.

“We want to embrace the underdog status and hope that it can empower our fighting spirit,” added Fazil, who makes her Olympic debut in Paris. “We approach the Games with an ‘all-out’ mentality.”

Mashayikh, meanwhile, is ensuring that her team is in good condition and ready for the challenge.

Their belief in each other is one of their strengths as they face the biggest challenge of all in Paris 2024.