Hasihin wears the silver medal round his neck after the prize presentation of the men's recurve individual event. - Bernamapix
LONDON: Buoyed by the spirit of the late Mohd Salam Sidik, archer Hasihin Sanawi powered his way to clinch a silver medal at the Paralympic Games here.
Hasihin was edged by Italy's Oscar de Pellegrin in a toe-to-toe shoot-off after they were tied 5-5 in the men's individual recurve W1/W2 final at the Royal Artillery Barrack near here.
The duel was witnessed by National Sports Council director-general Datuk Zolkples Embong, who is also chef-de-mission, National Sports Institute CEO Ahmad Shapawi Ismail, Malaysian Paralympic Council (MPC) patron Tun Jeanne Abdullah, and MPC president Datuk Zainal Abu Zarin.
"Thank God. This is my best achievement so far this year. I had never met him (Oscar), so I just focused on the competition and give my best," said Hasihin.
Hasihin, 27, said he had redeemed Mohd Salam's wish of beating Iran's Ebrahim Ranjbarkivaj by outpacing the Iranian archer in the semi-finals.
Mohd Salam, who was ranked second in the world during his lifetime, lost to Ebrahim at the Asian Games in Guangzhou, China in 2010.
Hasihin, who made his debut at the Paralympic Games, beat Ebrahim by two points in a shoot-off in the semi-finals after collecting 10 points. Earlier, they were tied 5-5.
Hasihin will continue his foray in the team event along with Zulkifli Mat Zain and Mohd Zafi Rahman Mat Salleh.
Meanwhile, Zolkples said Hasihin's victory should be celebrated by all Malaysians.
"The silver medal feat brightened up the Malaysian camp here. It bettered our performance compared to four years ago when we won a bronze.
"If you look at the passage Hasihin had gone through here, he got a difficult path, but had shown his grit and gradually improved his performance.
"In the quarter-finals, he beat Beijing gold medallist and then world number one archer from Iran in the semi-finals," said Zolkples.
He said despite being an underdog, Hasihin had shown an exemplary fighting spirit which should be emulated by Malaysian athletes. - Bernama
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