KUALA LUMPUR: Sailor Khairulnizam Afendy is as relaxed as a boater in a recreational lake as he gets ready for the Paris Olympics.
The 31-year-old will fly to Marseille with fellow national sailor Nur Shazrin Latif on Sunday for the final stage of their preparations.
It will be the Langkawi local's fourth Olympics when he competes at the Roucas Blanc Olympic Marina in Marseille.
Khairul made his Olympic debut in the laser class in 2012, London, where he finished 47th. In Rio, 2016, he improved to 34th and in Tokyo, 2021, he finished 28th.
Currently ranked world No. 16 in the ILCA 7 class, Khairul said he is a much calmer sailor now, and it shows in his results.
"I have been sailing since I was small, and I have always been a bit impatient, but I have learnt a lot over the years, and now I'm just relaxed. I was desperate to win qualification for the Paris Olympics at the Last Chance Regatta in April, and things got off to a horrible start there," said Khairulnizam.
"I got black-flagged in the first race itself but kept my cool and recovered in the remaining races to finish third. It was a great lesson. I'm less pressured now, and I can see my form is in the best condition.
"Maybe when you age, you gain maturity and handle situations better. I'm not going to stress myself with unnecessary thoughts, but that doesn't mean I have no ambition.
"I have the skill set and the experience, so I will just believe in my ability and do my best. I'm in the best form of my career with a positive world ranking, and I hope I can deliver a good performance."
Khairulnizam's top form saw him finish 16th out of 193 sailors at the World Cup Series in Mallorca before his third-place at the Last Chance Regatta, both in April.
He also finished 19th out of 103 sailors at the Kiel Regatta in Germany last month.
"I'm peaking well for the Paris Olympics. We will be in Paris early to train and acclimatise to the conditions. We will start training on July 10, and we will get to train with the Olympic equipment on July 20," he added.