Suresh Selvathamby. Photo courtesy of Bernama
KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (NNN-Bernama) – Malaysia’s recurve archer, S.Suresh emerged victorious at the 2019 World Archery Para Championships in Hertogenbosch, Netherlands.
The 25-year-old won the world crown after defeating United States’ Eric Bennett 7-3 in the final
He advanced to the final after edging Bato Tsydendorzhiev of Russia, 7-3 in the semi-finals.
Bato, who had earlier eliminated the defending champion Zhao Lixue in the quarter-finals, settled in third place after winning against Iranian Pouriya Jalalipour 6-0 in the bronze medal match.
Suresh had already confirmed his berth to the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games as a top two finisher.
The last Malaysian to win a medal at the world meet was the late Salam Sidik, who won bronze in the 2011 edition.
National para archery coach, Marzuki Zakaria said Suresh deserved the world title for his hard work and focus throughout the tournament.
‘’We are very happy and thankful to allah because our target is achieved, whereby Suresh qualifies to the Paralimpic. The gold medal success is a bonus for us.
‘’Suresh had done his best, I am very happy at his performance today. He was seen so calm, gave 120 per cent focus and was not nervous. To me, he has the right and deserves to be world champion,’’ he said when contacted in the Netherlands.
For the record, Suresh won the recurve men’s silver medal at the Fazza para world ranking tournament in Dubai last month.
NNN-BERNAMA