Sutiya Jiewchaloemmit has already made history as Thailand's first skeet shooter to have qualified for the Olympics. More than that, she is now aiming at a podium finish in Beijing.
Sutiya, who is training in Germany, is brimming with confidence that she could defy all the odds to finish on the podium. The 21-year-old star earned her Olympic spot by finishing fifth at the 2007 World Championships in Cyprus.
"I am confident that I will do well at the 2008 Games. I believe that I have the potential to become successful," she was quoted by the Bangkok Post newspaper as saying on Friday. "If I do well on the first day, then I may get a medal."
The first day of the skeet competition is scheduled for August 14.
Sutiya is familiar with the competition venue as she has competed there. She said it was a good shooting range with beautiful scenery.
Nicknamed "Nee", Sutiya has been in good form over the past two years. Apart from finishing fifth at the 2007 World Championships, she also was runner-up at the Asian Shooting Championships, won gold at the Asian Clay Championships and finished eighth at the Skeet and Trap World Cup.
However, Suebchai Chainuwat, president of the Skeet and Trap Shooting Association of Thailand (STSA), said there will be a large number of world-class shooters in Beijing.
"There are several good Chinese shooters in the competition but Sutiya has beaten many of them including the world's number one," he said. "I think the Chinese will have a lot of pressure as expectations are high."
Suebchai said he hoped Sutiya would do well in Beijing as her good performance would encourage the young to take up the sport. " At the moment, we have very few skeet and trap shooters. If Sutiya does well in Beijing, it could make the sport more popular here," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)