Suryani, who is set to be only the fourth pregnant athlete to participate in the Olympics, left for the London Games with the aquatics team last night.
Suryani, who will be into her eighth month of pregnancy next week, can even expect to find herself stealing the limelight from the Olympic champion in her discipline due to her condition.
The weary-looking Suryani said that it has not been easy handling the strains of preparing for the Olympics and the attention from the world media.
“There are a lot of foreign media who have asked me about my pregnancy and my ability to compete at the Games.
“They find it unique and told me that I am the first (athlete) to be competing at such a late stage (of pregnancy),” said Suryani, who revealed that she was also interviewed for nearly an hour by the BBC at the Subang Shooting Range on Sunday.
“It is not easy for me being in this condition and, honestly, I am tired of all the attention although I am excited about shooting at the Olympics.”
The hour-long interview got to her and she was forced to cancel two other interviews with journalists from Singapore and Russia as she wanted to focus on her training.
Suryani said there has been a lot of requests for interviews in London but she plans to hold just one press conference as she does not want to be distracted from her main task.
Suryani will shoot in the women’s 10m air rifle on Saturday – the day after the opening ceremony – and it is the first medal event.
“I have discussed with my manager (Muzli Mustakim) and we have decided that we will have one media conference when we arrive in London where all the journalists can pose their questions to me.
“After that I just want to concentrate on the competition and I hope everyone understands,” said Suryani, who plans to return home on July 31.
Asked what is her target in London, Suryani said “I plan to achieve my best performance”.
“I just hope to give my best out there on that day and if it’s good enough for a medal, I guess it’s my baby girl’s blessings,” said Suryani, who plans to name her daughter Dayana Widyan.
“Don’t forget, I was the first gold medal winner for Malaysia at the SEA Games last year. I was also the first medal winner at the Asian Games (Guangzhou) two years ago.”
Suryani will be accompanied by her husband Marhazli Mhotar in London.
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