Shooting: Singapore win 3 golds, 6 silvers and 1 bronze at South-east Asian championships
National shooter Fernel Tan had a day of mixed emotions at the South-east Asian Shooting Championships in Bangkok on Monday.
She teamed up with sister Adele and Ho Xiu Yi to help the Republic win the women’s 10m air rifle team event with 1,872 points, pipping Vietnam to the title by 0.3 points.
But Tan was slightly disappointed with her individual score of 624.5 points, which placed her fourth out of 18 shooters.
The 20-year-old said: “It’s not the best qualification score for me, which means there’s more work to be done back in Singapore. This time round, I win and I learn.
“I have been working with my psychologist to explore different techniques so I can deal with the psychological obstacles during the match. However, the feeling when shooting in an international final match is very different from a local final match.
“Nonetheless, it was a good learning experience and this would definitely add value for my international competition experience.”
Vietnam’s Le Thi Mong Tuyen, Phi Thanh Thao and Nguyen Thi Thao settled for silver with 1,871.7 points, ahead of Thailand’s Sastwej Chanittha, Pratumtong Yodtien and Kaosarn Napatchon (1,860.1).
Ho later clinched a silver in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event after losing 17-9 to Tuyen in the final.
On Friday, the Republic wrapped up their campaign in Bangkok with two golds and one silver, taking their total tally to three golds, six silvers and one bronze.
Jasmine Ser clinched the individual 50m rifle 3-positions gold after outscoring teammate Martina Veloso 16-6 in the final. The pair, together with Adele, also helped the Republic win the team event with a combined score of 1,731. Vietnam was second with 1,715 points with Indonesia third on 1,708.
But Veloso was not awarded a silver, which went to Indonesia’s Rhamatan Toyyiba Vidya Rafika as competition rules stipulate that medallists have to be from different countries.
Ser, 32, said: “Being able to win this final gave me a little more confidence. It’s also a reminder that I am on the right track and will work harder towards my goal which is to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympics in this event.”
Martina’s younger brother Marat also had a decent outing on his debut in the regional competition, clinching two silver medals in the 10m air rifle team and individual 50m rifle 3-positions.
But he was disappointed to miss out on a medal in the individual 10m air rifle after scoring 202.7 points to finish sixth.
The 19-year-old said: “I missed out on the podium position because of a bad shot, leading to myself being eliminated.
“However for (the other events), I was proud and really happy of my performance. I stayed calm and focused, making smart decisions in the finals.”
The Nanyang Polytechnic student also had to cope with insufficient training leading up to the competition because of school commitments.
But he added that he has shown improvement and is looking forward to learning more and gaining more experience.
“Improving on my 50m 3P is my focus right now. I have little experience with wind shooting and there is just so much more to learn and improve on,” said Marat, who hopes to qualify for the 2023 Asian Games and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Singapore also won silver medals through their 10m air pistol teams – Teo Jia En, Lin Jing Xiang and Hoong Shi Xiang in the men’s event and Clarice Lee, Teh Xiu Yi and Minnal Dhayalan in the women’s. Teh also bagged a silver in the individual 25m air pistol, while Teo added a bronze in the individual 10m air pistol.
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