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VICTORIES FOR YOUNGSTERS
Teens Taste Success In Men's 10m Air Rifle Competition
By Christopher Ong & Peh Siong San in Bangkok
Making his SEA Games debut, 17- year-old Jonathan Koh Tien Wei showed all the composure of a veteran to bring home a gold medal for Singapore in the men's 10m air rifle competition here in Bangkok.
Credit To Team
The youngster finished with a score of 690.6, comfortably ahead of teammate Ong Jun Hong who had a score of 687.5. The final member of our team, Zhang Jin, finished fifth with a score of 686. However, Jonathan was modest about his achievement and credited the win to his teammates, saying, "They are more experienced, so they guided me by telling me what to expect." He added, "I can breathe a sigh of relief now that the hard work has paid off. Everything went well, so I'm quite satisfied."
Tense Finale
Jun Hong was visibly disappointed with his second-place finish, since he felt that it was within his ability to get the gold. He endured a tense finale to the competition as third-placed Filipino Emerito Concepcion pushed him all the way, eventually finishing 0.6 points behind. Still, he was "very, very happy" for the team. He said, "I'm glad that Jonathan came in first, for at least I lost to a fellow Singaporean." Even though he missed out on a medal, Zhang Jin was also happy to do his part for the team. He added that he "hoped to learn from his mistakes and ensure they don't happen again."
Gold In Team Event
Earlier, Jonathan had also led the way in the qualification round, scoring a total of 593 points. Jun Hong had a score of 590, while Zhang Jin had a score of 584. The combined score of 1767 from the three youngsters (picture) was enough to win the men's 10m air rifle team event.
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