KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Sports Commissioner Hasli Izwan Amir Hasan will use his pistol for the last time in the hope of qualifying for his second Olympic outing at the Paris Games.
The 47-year-old will compete for the men's 25m rapid fire pistol Olympic spot at the Asian Shooting Championships in Jakarta from Jan 5-18.
Hasli made his first Olympic appearance in the 2008 Beijing Games after winning silver in the same event at the 2007 Asian meet.
However, in Beijing, he could only finish 15th.
National Shooting Association of Malaysia secretary Jasni Shaari said Hasli, a gold medallist at the 2005 Manila Sea Games, is still the best rapid fire pistol shooter in the country.
"Although Hasli is busy with his full-time job, he is still the best in the country.
"He does not train regularly, but the shooter believes he can qualify for the Olympics for the second time," said Jasni.
The Asian Championships will be Hasli's first international outing since the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. After the Games, he was appointed as the deputy sports commissioner.
Compatriot Johnathan Wong has already qualified for the Paris Olympics after finishing fourth in the 10m air pistol at the Asian Championships in South Korea last year.
Eight shooters will represent Malaysia at the Asian Championships.
The others are Alia Sazana Azahari, Nurul Syasya Nadiah Ariffin, Dina Batrisya Adi Azhar, Bibiana Ng, Joseline Cheah , Nur Suryani Taibi and Gan Chen Jie.
Jasni hopes more shooters will join Johnathan in Paris.
"Most of the top marksmen from China and India have qualified for the Olympics, so our shooters will have opportunities to earn quota spots in Jakarta," Jasni added.
The only time Malaysia had more than one shooter at the Olympics was in the 2004 Athens Games when Bernard Yeoh and Ricky Teh qualified for the trap and skeet events.