SUBANG JAYA, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- Nur Aina Natasya Anderson, who plans to put her shooting career on hold to pursue her medical studies, gave herself a perfect “parting” gift by bagging the gold medal in the women’s 10-metre (m) air rifle event at the 2026 Selangor Malaysia Games (SUKMA) here today
The 19-year-old has decided to step away from competitive shooting after the Games to focus on her medical studies at Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS), which she will begin in September.
However, Sabahan Nur Aina Natasya has left the door open to a return to the range once she can find a way to balance her academic and sporting commitments.
“This is probably my last competition because I want to continue my studies, and my course is quite tough.
“Given the chance, I want to continue shooting. But I need to find a way to balance my studies and sport,” she said after her SUKMA victory at the National Shooting Range here today.
Earlier, Nur Aina Natasya clinched gold by scoring 244.8 points, pipping Pahang’s Nur Auni Arissa Azaha by just 0.6 points.
Perak’s Nor Alya Aqila Mahathir (223.4 points) settled for bronze.
The victory also helped Nur Aina Natasya erase the disappointment of the previous edition in Sarawak, where she failed to qualify for the final.
Nur Aina Natasya has the opportunity to make it a golden hat-trick as she has two more events left - the mixed team and 50m prone air rifle.
Meanwhile, national shooter Cheah Zen Hong, representing Pahang, lived up to expectations by winning the men’s 50m pistol gold with 518 points.
Selangor’s Thaqif Norhaqeem Rozhan (514 points) snd Johor’s Nik Adam Isyraf Nik Mohd (511 points) settled for silver and bronze, respectively.
“I am not satisfied with my score today, but I am grateful to have won the gold medal for Pahang,” said Zen Hong, who also helped Pahang win the 50m pistol team gold.
-- BERNAMA