KUALA LUMPUR: Archer Syaqiera Mashayikh kicked off Malaysia's campaign at the Paris Olympics with a promising performance, recording a personal best in the women's individual ranking round at Les Invalides Archery Range in Paris on Thursday.
After 12 ends of 72 arrows, Syaqiera scored 663 to finish 14th in the 64-archer field. Her previous best was 649.
The 24-year-old was in the top 10 after six ends, recording scores of 55, 57, 58, 56, 57, and 53 for a total of 336.
However, Syaqiera could not maintain her momentum in the second half, scoring 56, 54, 53, 54, 53, and 57.
Syaqiera will face Moldova's Alexandra Mirca, who finished 32nd, in the first round on Tuesday.
Compatriots Ariana Nur Dania Zairi (633) and Nurul Azreena Fazil (622) finished in 50th and 60th positions, respectively. Ariana will take on Italy's Chiara Rebagliati, ranked 15th, while Nurul Azreena will square off against fifth-ranked Elif Berra Gokkir of Turkiye.
Meanwhile, South Korea's Li Si Hyeon set a new world record with a score of 694, surpassing the previous mark of 692 set by compatriot Kang Chae Young in 2019.
Compatriot Nam Su Hyeon finished second with 688, while China's Yang Xiaolei took third with 673.