Indeed, it was also a showcase of NSAM’s organizational skills. It was the first time that Malaysia had won a gold, thanks to the gallant effort of Air Rifle shooter Nurul Huda Baharin.
Despite a broken arm suffered in a motorcycle accident two weeks earlier, Nurul brought cheer to Malaysia by breaking the Games records, firing a 494.8 to erase the previous record of 488.7. She was later named Olympian of the year 1998 by the Olympic Council of Malaysia.
Both Bibiana Ng and Roslina Bakar came within a whisker of the gold in the Ladies Sport Pistol and Sport Rifle 3-Position respectively. They were leading in the preliminary rounds but stumbled in the finals. It was a case of so near yet so far.
Malaysia also collected two silver and three bronze medals from Abdul Mutalib Abdul Razak, Emran Zakaria along with Suriani Othman, Kamisah Abd. Jalal, Norsita Hj. Mahmud and Zainal Abidin Md. Zain.
Malaysia’s success in the shooting competitions were held in a modern venue LISRAM, built at a cost of RM80 million. A record of 39 Commonwealth countries and 322 participants competed in the shooting competitions. They were; Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Canada, Cyprus, England, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Isle Of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Namibia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Scotland, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, St. Helena, Tanzania, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks and Caicos, Uganda, Wales and Zimbabwe.
The shooting competitions were successfully conducted and for the first time in the Commonwealth Games history, there was not a single protest from the participating nations.
NSAM’s success was due to the co-operation from a tireless executive committee, specially formed just for the Games, NSAM’s affiliates, Sukom, Kedah State government, Olympic Council of Malaysia, National Sports Council, Police and Armed Forces.