MYANMAR will send a pistol target shooter to the Asian Games in Doha next month for the first time in the history of Asia’s premier sporting event, the Myanmar Shooting Federation said.

Maung Kyu, who won gold in the 50m free pistol competition at the 2005 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games in Manila, will compete in the 50m free pistol and 10m air pistol events, the athlete’s coach, U Kyaw Aye, confirmed.

Maung Kyu will face some of the world’s top competitors at the Asian Games, which start December 1.

“We can’t say this event is just at the Asian level because all the world’s shooting powerhouses like China, South Korea and Japan will be there. Maung Kyu will be fighting for a place in the tightest of competitions, but if he gets through the preliminary rounds we’ll be in with a good chance to get the gold,” said coach U Kyaw Aye. “He always shoots well in the exciting finals.”

All competing shooters must take part in preliminary 60-bullet rounds with the top eight going on to the finals.

“We pray Maung Kyu will reach the final round of 10 bullets. If he does, we know we can get good points from him,” U Kyaw Aye said.