KUALA LUMPUR: National sailor Nur Shazrin Mohamad Latif will use the 2024 ILCA Senior European Championships and Open European Trophy in Athens, Greece as a battlefield to measure her performance before the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
The 25-year-old sailor hopes the tournament, which runs from Feb 16-27, will help identify her weaknesses before competing in the prestigious Olympic games that starts in July.
"The last major competition was the Asian Games last year and after that there were no big tournaments, I don't know what my level is now, if I go (to Europe) at least I know my weaknesses and can set a personal target for the Olympics.
"Before going to Europe, I want to improve my handling, starting and fitness," she told Bernama today.
The Johor native said that for now, she has been actively undergoing training in Langkawi since reporting on Jan 1, to prepare for the sailing events in Europe.
She said the cold weather in Europe will be a major challenge since she has not sailed in such weather conditions for a long time.
Nur Shazrin, who contributed a gold medal at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games through the Women's ILCA6 event, has confirmed her place on merit to the 2024 Olympic Games.
In the meantime, Nur Shazrin also expressed concern as there was no clear plan for programmes and preparations for Paris 2024 drawn up by the Malaysian Sailing Association (MSA) and the National Sports Council (NSC).
Left to fend for herself, she said time was running out for her to prepare since MSA and NSC have not yet given her any clear indication about a training programme nor a coach being assigned to her.
"I don't know when I can start, it's too late, the Olympics is just a few months away, other athletes have already started training since the last Olympics," she said.
The 2024 Olympic Games is scheduled from July 26 to Aug 11.