PALEMBANG: The national shooters here have been forced to purchase bullets locally al-though they have not given up hope that their own bullets will arrive in time for the competition which starts tomorrow.
The shooting team arrived in Palembang on Wednesday evening with their guns but their bullets were left behind in Kuala Lumpur because it did not have proper documentation from the bullet manufacturers.
“It is a funny situation because we’ve always been able to pass through to whichever country we go,” said team manager Muzli Mustakim.
“But Garuda Indonesia stopped us back in KLIA because they needed a proper recommendation letter from the bullet manufacturers which is based in Germany.
“It is not really a good situation because although we’ve purchased bullets here, it is only good enough for training purposes but not for competitions.
“Our bullets were specifically handpicked by the shooters themselves and it is customized for their gun barrels in order to produce optimal performance. But I believe my shooters are experienced enough and they’ll be able to adapt to the situation. Besides, we’re still trying to bring our bullets in and hopefully its not too late,” said Muzli.
Malaysia’s best hope for a gold medal lies in top woman sharpshooter Nur Suryani Taibi who will compete in the 10m air rifle and 50m rifle three-position events. The 10m rifle event will begin tomorrow.
Meanwhile, deputy chief-de-mission Datuk Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, believed it could be a psychological attack by the Indonesians but he thinks that the Malaysian contingent in Palembang can still achieve their projected target of 22-gold medals.
“The athletes are all ready and fired up to bring glory and although the shooting team suffered a setback, we should draw the positives from it,” said Syed Mustaffa.
THE STAR
The shooting team arrived in Palembang on Wednesday evening with their guns but their bullets were left behind in Kuala Lumpur because it did not have proper documentation from the bullet manufacturers.
“It is a funny situation because we’ve always been able to pass through to whichever country we go,” said team manager Muzli Mustakim.
“But Garuda Indonesia stopped us back in KLIA because they needed a proper recommendation letter from the bullet manufacturers which is based in Germany.
“It is not really a good situation because although we’ve purchased bullets here, it is only good enough for training purposes but not for competitions.
“Our bullets were specifically handpicked by the shooters themselves and it is customized for their gun barrels in order to produce optimal performance. But I believe my shooters are experienced enough and they’ll be able to adapt to the situation. Besides, we’re still trying to bring our bullets in and hopefully its not too late,” said Muzli.
Malaysia’s best hope for a gold medal lies in top woman sharpshooter Nur Suryani Taibi who will compete in the 10m air rifle and 50m rifle three-position events. The 10m rifle event will begin tomorrow.
Meanwhile, deputy chief-de-mission Datuk Syed Mustaffa Syed Ali, believed it could be a psychological attack by the Indonesians but he thinks that the Malaysian contingent in Palembang can still achieve their projected target of 22-gold medals.
“The athletes are all ready and fired up to bring glory and although the shooting team suffered a setback, we should draw the positives from it,” said Syed Mustaffa.
THE STAR
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