Asian bronze medallist Mazuki says mental sharpness is fading as he ages

As he competes at the Asia Cup stage in Bangkok this week, Malaysian compound archer Mohd Juwaidi Mazuki says the biggest challenge of getting older in the sport is not physical decline.

It is staying mentally sharp.

The 35-year-old, who won bronze at the Dhaka 2025 Asian Archery Championships, believes experience and maturity have helped his performances – but maintaining focus under pressure is harder than it once was earlier in his career.

His runner-up finish at the Southeast Asian Games in December was a case in point.

“When archery becomes your career and livelihood, there’s much more responsibility compared to someone who’s fresh and carefree,” said Mazuki when asked about his gold medal match against Thailand’s 19-year-old Peerawa Rattanapongkiat.

“He doesn’t have much responsibility yet. I was the defending champion, so there was more pressure on me. He shot better, and the luck was on his side.”

“He had better wind conditions shooting alternate. I didn’t look at it negatively. It’s good for him as the host. The next edition will be in my country, so hopefully it’ll be my turn.”

Like all athletes, archers strive to maintain the advantages of their physical prime through constant practice, delaying that decline for as long as possible.

While focusing on his bowstring company last year, he reduced his training to evening sessions three or four days a week during the long 2025 outdoor season. He still competed internationally, including at the continental championships in November.

Competition-wise, that meant skipping the indoor season. Mazuki chose not to enter any Indoor World Series events, instead prioritising the renovation of his family home in the coastal town of Malacca, about 150 kilometres south of Kuala Lumpur.

Although he no longer approaches tournaments as “carefree” as he once did and is not training as intensely, Mazuki says he is comfortable relying on the experience he has gained over 12 years competing internationally.

“Looking at my age now, I can see a lot of improvement in maturity,” he said. “When you’re young, the excitement of tournaments can be hard to control.”

“Now it’s more like a job I have to go and do. Whether the result is good or bad, everything has to be stable in life.”

“Archery and tournaments aren’t as high a priority as when you’re young, and I think that was one factor in winning bronze at the Asian Championships.”

That medal in Dhaka carried particular significance.

On his third attempt, the two-time Asia Cup gold medallist secured his first podium finish at the continental championships after earlier medal appearances in Bangkok 2015 and 2019.

It was also the first time he defeated Kim Jongho, the world championships bronze medallist from Den Bosch 2019, after losing their three previous encounters.

Again, as at the Southeast Asian Games, Mazuki felt his mental sharpness in matches was not what it once had been.

Even in high-stakes medal matches, he says it is harder to maintain focus than earlier in his career – such as when he won his biggest result to date, bronze at the Antalya 2023 Hyundai Archery World Cup.

“In the semifinal, I had to change something quickly because I was going into the bronze final,” said Mazuki. “The change wasn’t technical – it was just confidence. I knew I didn’t want to shoot that score in the bronze final against Kim Jongho.”

“I’d never beaten him, and he’s one of the best in the world. I knew I had to make good shots because he can win on the last end or force a shoot-off.”

“I didn’t want that because my brain isn’t as good as when I was young. It’s harder to focus now, but being stable is okay. Staying positive is harder, so I have to make quick decisions.”

Mazuki’s competition calendar will once again be busy in 2026.

While he again skipped the indoor season, his focus is firmly on preparation for the outdoor circuit, with a long campaign ahead for Malaysia’s compound team.

As part of the nation’s preparations for this year’s Asian Games, Malaysian archers are expected to compete at three stages of the Hyundai Archery World Cup – Shanghai, Antalya and Madrid – more than the one or two events they typically attend in non-Olympic years.

Alongside the Asia Cup leg in Bangkok this week and the second stage in Sulaymaniyah, it offers Mazuki more opportunities to compete internationally before Malaysia begins centralised preparations for the LA28 Olympic cycle.

With his long-standing experience on the circuit, Mazuki believes he can still play an important role for Malaysia in the compound mixed team in the years ahead.