RECURVE archer Khairul Anuar Mohamad is thankful to his late father for how far he has come in the game.
Khairul, 27, clinched a historic first medal for Malaysia at the World Championships in the Netherlands last week when he beat the odds to reach the individual final before losing out in a shootout to highly-favoured World No 3 Brady Ellison of the United States.
In addition to winning a silver medal, he also qualified for the individual event at the Tokyo Olympics next year.
Khairul, whose soft-spoken nature often belies his fierce competitive spirit, took some time to reflect on his success upon his return from Hertogenbosch at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
“Regardless of the difficulties I faced, be it injuries or other challenges, I have always pushed myself to do well in the sport and there are a few reasons for this,” Khairul told reporters at the KLIA.
“Firstly, I do it for the love of the game. I want to give the sport a good name in Malaysia.
“But it’s also because of my late father (Mohamad Said). He and my family fully supported me and I’m always grateful for that.
“My father hoped that I would do my best to win gold medals at world-level competitions, especially the Olympics, and I have tried to achieve that step by step.
“Before he died, he told me that no matter what happens, I must never be quick to give up.
“He passed away one day before the Ramadan in 2016.
“During Ramadan that year, we qualified as a team for the Rio Olympics and during the Syawal month, we were number three in the US leg of the World Cup. We achieved the same feat No 3) in the US leg in 2018.
“I guess this (World Championships medal) is also thanks to his guidance and hopes.”
Khairul, who will be competing in his third Olympics in Tokyo, has been earmarked as a potential medallist at the quadrennial Games.
The Terengganu-born archer, however, did not want to discuss in detail his hopes for the individual event at the Olympics, preferring instead to highlight his focus on helping the team earn their ticket to the Games.
“For the Olympics, I do have my own personal target. This World Championships medal has given us more motivation to fight harder,” said Khairul.
“We now need to focus on getting the team to qualify for the Olympics. However, I will also focus on my individual preparations.”
The team will have another chance to qualify for the Olympics at the Berlin World Cup next year.