Malaysian Blind Shooter Wins Bronze At Prestigious International Competition
Awesome!
By John Lim — 19 Sep 2016, 11:16 AM
Malaysia's first outing at the Ostrava Cup was a success as Major Azhari Abdullah - one of the two visually impaired shooters representing the country - took home a bronze medal at the competition which ended yesterday, 18 September
Currently in its fifth year, the Ostrava Cup in the Czech Republic is an international shooting competition organised by the Police Sports Club Ostrava for blind and visually impaired athletes.
This year’s event was held from 15 to 18 September 2016, and the two Malaysians participated in this prestigious event.
In support of sports for the blind, the Tun Hussein Onn National Eye Hospital (THONEH) sponsored the athletes' attire, flight and accommodation, a new customised aiming device, and bullets for the competition
Dr. Dr Norasidi Bin Salim Al-Haj of THONEH presenting a token of appreciation to Dr S. Radhakrishnan, the President of MBSA during a press conference last week.
Image via PixarusTarget shooting for the visually impaired utilises standard shooting equipment with a special electronic audio aiming device fitted to the gun, sponsored by THONEH.
The aiming device detects the point of aim of the gun relative to the target and provides feedback to the shooter through differing sounds channelled to headphones indicating the point of aim.
With this device, a visually impaired shooter, regardless of the amount of sight, can achieve accuracy comparable to a fully sighted shooter.
While Major Azari Abdullah took home a bronze, the second shooter, ASP Amir Abdullah, was placed at the 10th spot - which is just as impressive!
Both athletes were chosen to represent Malaysia in the “60 shots standing” discipline competition.
Major Azhari Abdullah began shooting in 1996, and after losing his vision, he continued his passion and turned to blind shooting in 2009. ASP Amir Abdullah began blind shooting in 2015.
Major Azhari Abdullah was selected to represent Malaysia in 2011 for the 3rd IBSA Open European Shooting Air Rifle Championships while ASP Amir Abdullah succeeded in getting the 9th placing at the IBSA Alpine World Cup last year.
