SEGAMAT: National archer Syaqiera Mashayikh received a heroic welcome upon returning to her Felda Medoi hometown, following her participation in the Paris Olympics 2024.
Her parents Mashayikh Subari and Badariah Jamal, and some 250 settlers celebrated her return at a ceremony held at a multipurpose hall, with a pencak silat performance in her honour as she arrived, today.
Syaqiera failed to reach the third round of the women's individual event, losing by an arrow, following an attempt in the fifth set at Esplanade des Invalides.
She was leading 5-3 against Brazil's Ana Luiza Sliachtias Caetano after four sets (27-27, 28-28, 28-24, 27-27).
However, she crumbled in the fifth set, after losing 29-24, which allowed the Brazilian to level the score at 5-5.
https://www.nst.com.my/sports/others/2024/07/1084048/heartbreak-syaqiera...
Syaqiera was previously awarded the Sports Icon Award by the Segamat district youth council and the Felda Medoi 3rd Generation Certificate of Appreciation by the Felda regional management for representing Malaysia in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Despite returning home empty-handed, the third-generation Felda Medoi settler received a warm welcome.
Her journey to the Olympics began with her participation in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, which was her first major international competition.
She also competed in two tournaments in Paris, France, for the 2020 Olympic qualifiers and the third stage of the 2021 World Cup.
In the Paris Olympics 2024, Malaysia fielded three archers, with Syaqiera being the only one to advance to the second round or the 1/16 elimination round.
She secured a 6-0 victory over Alexandra Mirca of Moldova in the 1/32 elimination round but was narrowly defeated 5-6 by Ana Luiza Sliachticas Caetano of Brazil after a shoot-off.