KUALA LUMPUR: Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh may be the most successful compound archer in the country, but her appetite for winning is as strong as ever.
The 30-year-old is eager to add more Sea Games medals to her name when she makes her seventh straight appearance at the Games, in Hanoi from May 12-23.
Since debuting in Laos in 2009, Fatin has bagged 10 medals — five gold, four silver and one bronze.
She was the first Malaysian archer to record a clean sweep of titles (individual, mixed event and team) in the Sea Games, achieved at the 2015 Singapore edition.
No thanks to the lack of competitions due to Covid-19, the Hanoi Games will mark Fatin's return to the international stage since the 2019 Manila edition, where she won the individual silver.
Asked if she still has what it takes to finish on the podium, the Sabah-born said: "Yes, it has been more than 30 months since my last international competition, but I'm not too concerned about it because I've been training well.
"As long as I am mentally and physically prepared, anything is possible. Archery is a game that depends on how you perform on the day.
"The goal is to shoot close to my personal best score (of 703 out of possible 720) to finish high up in the ranking and head into the elimination round with great confidence.
"I have won medals in every edition, and I hope to keep the record going."
Apart from individual glory, Fatin will be tasked with mentoring debutantes P. Kayalvhily, Iman Aisyah Norazam and Nur Aina Yasmine Halim in Hanoi.
"I will use all the experience I have to help the team. My teammates maybe lack experience, but I am confident they will rise to the occasion," she said.
Fatin's best achievement to date was leading Malaysia to a historic women's team gold at the Shanghai leg of the 2015 World Cup. The other two winning members were Saritha Cham Nong and Nor Rizah Ishak.
In the same tournament, Fatin also made history by becoming the first Malaysian woman to make it to the individual semi-finals in the prestigious series.
Besides being a multiple Sea Games gold medallist, Fatin is also a regular podium finisher in continental meets such as the Asian Championships, Asia Cup series (formerly Asian Grand Prix) and World University Games.
She was once ranked as high as No 23 in the world.