Sukma XXI: N Sembilan’s Gan bags gold, breaks Games record in shooting

KUCHING (Aug 17): Negeri Sembilan sharpshooter Gan Chen Jie clinched the women’s 50-metre (m) Rifle 3 Positions individual gold medal in record-breaking style at the 2024 Malaysia Games (Sukma) at the Sarawak Shooting Range today.

The 20-year-old stood tall on the podium after scoring 574 points, eclipsing the old Sukma record of 569 points set by Perak’s Nurul Syafani Nabilah Abdul Razak at the 2022 edition.

With Gan firing on all cylinders, Penang’s Nur Sumayyah Dzulkifli (563 points) and Terengganu’s Nur Hanisah Adibah Zakaria (558 points) had to settle for silver and bronze respectively.

“I am pleased with my achievement today. I also received guidance from veteran Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi on how to have a better (shooting) technique. She also advised me not to be over-confident when shooting and to fully concentrate on what you need to do.

“I hope to be as successful as her and compete at the Olympic Games. I also watched videos of foreign shooters competing in the Olympics… how they shoot and (how) they control their emotions,” she said.

Gan and her teammates Aina Zahara Baharum and Tan Yee Xuan also made sure of the gold medal in the team event with a total score of 1,680 points.

Terengganu, comprising Nur Hanisah Adibah Zakaria, Nuradanee Qaisara Muhammad, Wan Nur Alyasha Humaira Muhammad Zahurin, took silver by a single point after scoring 1,648 points.

Selangor’s Nur Amira Nabila Khairus Safawi, Nur Sakinah Nurain Abdul Rahman and Nur Balqis Hamizi settled for bronze with 1,647 points.

Overall, Negeri Sembilan bagged four out of the six gold medals contested today as they also won the men’s 10m Air Rifle individual and team events. – Bernama