By Jeremiah Ong
The shooting program at the Asian Games came to a close for Team Singapore’s shooters after five days of competition at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre.
Off the back of a bountiful outing at the Cambodia SEA Games in May, the shooters were unable to break their medal duck at the Asiad once again. Their last piece of silverware at the continental showpiece came nine years ago in Incheon through a men’s team bronze in the 25m standard pistol and veteran shooter Gai Bin’s bronze in the men’s 25m centre fire pistol.
In a loaded field, chock full of world-class shooters representing regional powerhouses China, Japan and India, just making the eight-shooter final was a herculean task.
With the odds stacked against them, the women’s 10m air rifle shooters gave a good account of themselves with debutant and SEA Games medallist Fernel Tan coming closest of the trio with a 10th place finish in qualification, registering 628.8.
Her teammates, Commonwealth double gold medallist Martina Veloso and major Games debutant Eunice Leow, came in 20th (626.0) and 31st (622.1) in the 62-man individual qualification field.
Commonwealth champion Veloso finished 20th in the women’s 10m air rifle qualification on Sunday (Sept 24). (Photo: SportSG/ Alfie Lee)
Their total of 1876.9 gave them a credible fourth-place finish just 3.1 points off bronze medallist Mongolia.
Despite coming in fourth in the final in Palembang, Olympian Jasmine Ser could not replicate her form and came 21st (579), while Adele Tan was 25th (577) in the 50m rifle 3 positions qualification event.
Meanwhile, Veloso’s 582 points put her in 16th place and meant she would not make a return to the final like in the 2018 edition.
But this time, she was not only battling with the row of shooters lined next to her but also fighting off a nagging flu.
She said: “(My performance) was below my expectations and goals. One day after my arrival in China, I was not feeling well so my preparation and training sessions when I was in Hangzhou were not ideal and I was having a difficult time the days in between and during my matches. I had to see the team medical doctor daily to manage my symptoms.
“It is a little disappointing as I had good preparations at home with a good confidence booster from the World Championships last month when I made the final in the 10m air rifle event. Despite it all, I did everything I could to make the most out of my matches.”
Despite the difficulties faced, Coach Klavs Joern Christensen was proud of his charges, Leow and Veloso, for staying focused and sticking to the plan.
He said: “Competitions like (the Asian Games) are very important learning opportunities. The athletes get to know how they are (when) reacting to these high-pressure situations. Situations that we can't simulate at training.”
“It's all about emotional control, aim stability and timing of triggering. We are always working on improvements,” the 62-year-old added.
Fernel finished 20th in the women’s 10m air rifle qualification held at the Fuyang Yinhu Sports Centre. (Photo: SportSG/ Alfie Lee)
Fernel also teamed up with Tang Hong An in the mixed 10m air rifle team event but their score of 626.9 was not enough to put them in the top four to vie for silverware. Tang competed in the men’s 10m air rifle qualification and finished 20th, while teammate Lionel Wong was 21st.
Off the back of last year’s SEA Games, Fernel said she saw a marked improvement in her performance on the big stage.
“I’m really happy with the progress made in this Asian Games! I have been trying to work on some things, especially during my competition process, and to be honest, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for the past one-and-a-half years. So to be able to do it successfully this time round makes me contented and it’s also a confidence booster for my upcoming competitions,” she said.
“I think I handled the pressure well as compared to my first major games last year. I did more positive self-talks and visualisations to be more prepared for my competition day and I’m very glad that these helped to calm my nerves on that day.”
The 21-year-old, who had to survive two internal selection trials to qualify at the postponed Games, was just glad to be able to compete against top-quality opposition.
“In this Asian Games, I am up against big and strong countries like China, Korea, and Japan. They are really strong, breaking records after every competition, and shooters from these countries inspire me to do better after every competition.
“I think this Asian Games experience is a very encouraging experience and a confidence booster for my upcoming competitions. I could finally see some progress in the things that I have been working on the past one-and-a-half years, it’s just like finally there’s a light at the end of the tunnel,” she added with a laugh.
Over in the pistol event, the trio of Teo Shun Xie and sisters Teh Xiu Hong and Teh Xiu Yi participated in the women’s 10m air pistol, 25m pistol rapid fire and precision stage events.
ISSF (International Shooting Sport Federation) World Cup silver medallist Teh Xiu Hong finished 18th out of 58 in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification on Friday (Sept 29). (Photo: SportSG/ Stanley Cheah)
The trio had already tasted success as a team with a gold in last year’s ISSF World Cup in Changwon in the 25m pistol event. This time, though, silverware would evade them in both the precision stage and rapid fire team combined finals where they finished fifth out of 12 in each category.
However, there was some consolation as Olympian and Commonwealth gold medallist Teo advanced to the finals of the rapid fire. There, she was the second shooter to be eliminated and finished in seventh overall.
Xiu Hong missed out on the rapid fire finals after coming 11th and could not hide her disappointment after coming so close.
Returning to the Asiad, the 29-year-old was excited to compete as she knew she had improved since the previous edition and was more confident going into these Games.
“My biggest takeaway is to learn to trust myself more and also to trust all of the hard work that I’ve put in during my training. By doing so, I’ll be able to perform my best,’ she said.
Youth Olympian Teh Xiu Yi came 42nd out of 58 in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification. (Photo: SportSG/ Alfie Lee)
Younger sister, Xiu Yi, was quick to assess her performance after the match and is already on the search for ways to improve.
“For the 25m precision, I had quite a few 9.9s and 9.8s and I should have had a little bit more determination in triggering for those shots. The rapid stage was something that I have been training hard for the past few months as I am trying to be more consistent with my movement and shot process as well as shooting within three seconds but I believe with more self-confidence, I should be able to do better,” she said.
The debutant is already looking ahead and is aiming for a top-eight spot at the next Asiad.
The trio would get one more chance in the 10m air pistol qualification two days later but failed to capitalise as they missed out on the individual final and their total of 1694 put them in 11th in the team event.
Veteran shooter Li Jie also made his Asiad debut, competing in the men’s 10m running target and 10m running target mixed where he finished 10th and fifth respectively.
Li, who participated in the 2004 Athens Olympics, racked up 374 in the latter event, three points off third-placed Jeong Youjin from Korea. Despite going home empty-handed, his score was a significant improvement from the 360 he registered at the recently concluded ISSF World Championships in Baku.
In the men’s skeet, Low Jiang Hao returned to the Asiad after a 34th-place finish in 2014. The SEA Games silver medallist improved on his showing in Incheon as he rounded off the qualification stage with a 66 in the skeet-75 and a 43 in the skeet-50 to come in 32nd.
The 19th Asian Games are held in Hangzhou, China from 23 September to 8 October 2023. For the latest Team Singapore coverage and news, follow Team Singapore on their social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, TikTok) or visit the official Team Singapore website.