KUALA LUMPUR – Although there is still a year to go before the Thailand SEA Games next December, the National Shooting Association of Malaysia (NSAM) is not resting on its laurels and already identified new coaching candidates to strengthen the national squad.
Not just one, but two foreign experts from South Korea have been shortlisted to lead the national team – Kong Hyun-ah and Park Cheol-wan, who are a renowned husband-and-wife duo.
NSAM secretary general Jasni Shaari revealed that they have already secured approval from the National Sports Council (NSC) to enlist the services of these two coaches. The decision now lies with Hyun Ah and Cheolwan on whether to accept the offer from NSAM.
If they agree, the husband-and-wife duo will replace Russian coach Ivan Shakov, who requested to be released due to personal reasons.
Hyun-ah and Cheol-wan, who recently concluded their tenure with the South Korean team in preparation for the Paris Olympics, are no strangers to Malaysian shooters.
The pair previously served in Malaysia seven years ago during the Kuala Lumpur SEA Games in 2017.
Under their guidance previously, Malaysia achieved an impressive haul of 12 medals, including four golds.
“We have reached out to them, so the decision is now in their hands. Essentially, they have agreed to come to Malaysia, and what’s left now is the administrative process to finalise their appointments.
“This isn’t their first time working with us, so we are well aware of their capabilities. It just so happens that they are currently available. We’ll see how it goes – whether the process of securing their services is successful or not. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll continue searching for other coaches.
“According to the plan, Cheol-wan will handle the rifle squad, while Hyun-ah will train the pistol athletes, with local coaches working under their supervision,” said Jasni after attending the Working Committee Meeting with the NSC in Bukit Jalil today.
Today’s meeting also confirmed that existing local coach Mohammad Firdaus Abd Rahim will remain in his role, alongside the decision to place 12 full-time shooters under the Podium Programme.
Meanwhile, only three athletes from the national development programme were dropped due to a lack of notable achievements over the recent years.
At the same time, Jasni explained that they will only have a clearer picture of the medal targets for the SEA Games in Thailand after the Asian Shooting Championship in Kazakhstan in August and the ISSF World Championships in Egypt in November.
“After these two championships, or by mid-next year, we might be able to estimate how many gold medals we can aim for at the SEA Games.
“In my opinion, three or four gold medals should be within our reach. I’m not saying we’re exceptionally strong, but we’re not far behind either – we remain one of the contenders in Southeast Asia. For now, no specific targets have been set,” he added.
Shooting was not contested at the 2023 SEA Games in Cambodia. Meanwhile, at the 2021 edition in Hanoi, Vietnam, the national squad managed to secure only two gold medals and two silver medals. – November 25, 2024