Just in case you glossed over the title, I’ll reiterate it again: Singapore now has an archery world champion!
Someone had enough discipline and commitment to train, persist and work hard at their own craft, to reach the status of being the best of the best in the world- this is definitely something to be acknowledged and celebrated.
It is also a good wake up call for your passive keyboard smasher in Goody Feed because she also has a precision sport she’s supposed to train up.
We will now introduce…
Winner of the 2019 World Archery Para Championship
Meet Nur Syahidah Alim, a Singapore Paralympian.
She clinched the gold medal during her maiden World Archery Para Championship outing in the Netherlands this year. In other words, it’s her first time at the competition and she already struck gold; this athlete has a promising career!
But it must have taken nerves of steel because of how close of a shave it was.
A Tight Match
Syahidah was neck to neck with the reigning Paralympic champion from Briton, Jessica Stretton. She led by 1 point twice but ended up at 114-114 after five ends.
In the tie-breaking shoot-off, both women scored nines but Syahidah’s shot was closer to the ten-ring while Stratton’s was closer to the eight-ring, which was enough to decide on the champion.
Nerves of Steel
Archery is a precision sport, which means that the mental aspect dominates the physical one. To hold out till the very last shot, Syahidah said:
“I think it was a really intense match. I felt a little nervous. But with the help of my coach, I stood on the ground and focused on what I had to do.
I was only focusing on my coach’s voice, my process and routine.”
She also said she didn’t panic, even with the tie after the five ends.
“Archery is anybody’s game, so the only thing I can do is do my best out there and just focus on what I need to do, which is my routine and (remembering) my cue words.”
2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games
Syahidah secured a place in it, and according to The Straits Times, will be “nominated to the Singapore National Paralympic Council for the para-archery slot in Tokyo”.
It turns out, that was Syahidah’s aim initially, to make it to the Tokyo games.
“I didn’t expect to go all the way to the gold medal match at the world championships, my aim was to qualify for Tokyo and I’ve done that,” she said.
The Straits Times also reports that she will continue to develop her mental toughness and technique in Singapore.
Writing this article, am I inspired? Very. Will I change much? No, because my conviction is feeble.
To all the athletes out there, wishing you lots of discipline, perseverance (and sometimes money) to succeed in your coming competitions!
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