KUALA LUMPUR – National shooter Johnathan Wong expressed no regrets about his performance at the Paris Olympics, despite finishing 26th in the 10m air pistol qualification at the National Shooting Centre in Chateauroux today.
The 31-year-old, making his second Olympic appearance after Rio 2016, scored 570 points in a competition involving 33 shooters.
Only the top eight shooters will qualify for the final, scheduled to take place tomorrow.
Serbia’s Damir Mikec finished first with a score of 584, while Italy’s Nilo Maldini finished second with 581.
Germany’s Christian Reitz was third with 580, and the best Asian finisher was South Korea’s Lee Won-ho, who finished fourth with 579.
Johnathan, who set a national record in the event in 2015 with 585 points, said he was impressed with his performance in Paris, noting that he was better prepared than in Rio.
In Rio, he finished 28th in the 10m air pistol event and 37th in the 50m pistol event.
“It was a bit disappointing for me in terms of the score as I had higher targets before coming here.
“Although I was close to reaching the top eight, my score was not high enough to reach the target.
“I have given my best effort in preparation, and although I’m a bit disappointed with the outcome, I want to thank everyone who supported me, especially my coach, for all the hard work we put in.
“Compared to my last performance, I’m satisfied with our preparations this time. My teammates in Malaysia have been incredibly supportive,” he said in a video interview with the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM).
Since Malaysia first participated in the Olympics in 1956, no Malaysian shooter has qualified for any event final.
Currently, the best Malaysian finisher in the multisport event is 25m rapid-fire pistol shooter Hasli Izwan Amir Hasan, who finished 15th in the qualification round of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. – July 27, 2024