Malaysian pistol shooter Alia Suzana Azahari showed a strong recovery in the rapid-fire stage of the 25m pistol event at the Asian Games but was unable to secure a place in the final. Competing at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range on Tuesday, the 34-year-old improved her overall standing to 19th with a total of 574 points, combining her scores from both the precision and rapid stages.

Alia recorded 294 out of 300 points in the rapid-fire segment, a notable increase from her 280 points in the precision stage held on Sunday, where she had placed 37th. Despite this improvement, her performance was not sufficient to join the top eight shooters advancing to the final round.

Under the guidance of South Korean coach Park Cheol-wan, Alia expressed satisfaction with her rebound during the competition. “I was able to bounce back and give everything I had and managed 294 out of 300, which was among the highest scores in the rapid stage,” she said. She added that maintaining focus and fighting until the end were positive takeaways from the event, even though her overall score fell short of qualifying.

Looking ahead, Alia intends to concentrate on preparing for the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, scheduled for November. The tournament represents the first opportunity to earn a quota spot for the upcoming Olympic Games, marking an important target for her future ambitions.

Another Malaysian pistol competitor, Nurul Syasya Nadiah Ariffin, recorded 285 points in the precision stage and 279 in the rapid stage, leaving her 38th overall with 564 points and out of contention for the final.

The qualifying round was led by Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan with 587 points, followed closely by China’s Xiao Jiaruixuan with 586, and Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh with 585. Only the top eight shooters advanced to compete for medals.

The conclusion of the shooting events also saw Malaysia’s campaign come to an end except for rifle shooter Gan Chen Jie, who progressed to the final of the 50m rifle three positions event. Other Malaysian shooters did not advance beyond the qualification stages.