Pregnant Malaysian eyes shooting berth in Rio

Her compatriot Nur Suryani became one of the headlines of the London Games three years ago when she competed for Malaysia in the women's 10 metre air rifle despite being more than seven months pregnant.





Wahidah is eying selection for the Asian Championships - the last qualifier for Rio - in Kuwait from Nov. 1-12 and was optimistic of making her first Games.

"I'm only four months pregnant ... so, I shouldn't have any problem competing in the Asian meet to qualify for the Rio Olympics," she was quoted as saying by the Malaysian Star newspaper on Friday.

"Anyway, the pistol weighs only 1.26 kilogrammes, which is lighter compared to a rifle."

Wahidah, 25, has had the experience of competing while pregnant after finishing 13th in the 10 metre air pistol event at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea in July.

She, along with Nur Suryani, won silver medals in team events at the Southeast Asian Games in June and has shot for Malaysia for almost a decade but never appeared at an Olympics.

First she must perform well at a Malaysia association competition next week in Kuala Lumpur to merit selection for the Asian qualifier.

"I'll compete in the national meet to prove that I can still get a podium finish. I hope to be selected for the Asian meet," she said.





(Writing by Patrick Johnston in Singapore; Editing by Greg Stutchbury)


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Source: Reuters


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