National compound archer Fatin Nurfatehah Mat Salleh remained unfazed despite adverse weather conditions at the Synthetic Turf Field in the National Sports Complex in Kuala Lumpur.

With the bow and arrow event striking on 16-22 August at the KL SportsCity, the 26-year-old who had won three women’s compound gold medal – individual, team, and mixed team – believes it was a ‘shower of blessing’ for their preparations towards the KL2017 Games.

“It’s actually an advantage for us all playing in odd weather conditions.

“For myself, I prefer playing in the rain instead of the hot sun. When it’s raining, it’s cool and calm and I can read the wind pattern from the rain drops. So it is an advantage for me.

“But under the hot sun, the wind tends to get stronger and it does change the game situation as the wind blows differently at each end – the target and the shooting line. So it’s a bit hard to read the wind direction.

“I think having a head start to get used to the Games venue has helped the team tremendously,” said Fatin.

Aside from that, Fatin also believes that she has fully recovered from a nagging shoulder injury, all thanks to the National Sports Institute (ISN) medical team.

“I think I’ve fully recovered and I’m not distracted by it anymore but I will need to focus more on my game so physically I think I’m fit enough.

“In terms of being mentally stronger, however, I think there’s still a little bit more work to do. But we still have four more days remaining and I think I will be able to sort it out,” said Fatin, who will make her fifth appearance at the SEA Games this year.

“Archery is a mental game and everyone has a 50-50 chance of winning so it depends on that day if I hit my form and everything goes well with good shots on target.

“For now, I don’t really think about the colour of the medal because I believe that if I do my best, the result will follow,” added Fatin, who won the Asia Cup Stage 3 bronze medallist in Chinese Taipei in July. – BY ALVIN OH

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