SEA Games: Shooter Gai loses the gold
By Tan Yo-Hinn, TODAY | Posted: 19 December 2009 0713 hrs

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VIENTIANE - It could have been gold medal No 34 for Singapore, but that was not to be.

On the final day of the SEA Games on Friday, national shooter Gai Bin missed out on an individual gold in the men's 25m centre fire pistol after anxiety got the better of him and he eventually finished fourth at the National Sports Complex's shooting centre.

But the trio of Gai, Poh Lip Meng and On Shaw Ming still won the team bronze with a combined total of 1,691 points, behind Vietnam (1,728) and Thailand (1,706). The event consists of 60 shots - 30 each for the precision and rapid fire stages, with each shot worth a maximum 10 points.

After 40 shots - 30 precision and 10 rapid fire - Gai, 41, led the 16-strong field with 388 points, three ahead of Vietnam's Tuong Nguyen Manh.

His first 10 shots in the second stage rapid fire yielded a 96. However, he registered a poor 86 in his next 10 shots.

"I'd squeezed my trigger too hard in my 13th shot, causing it to fire off prematurely before I had aimed at the target," said Gai. "It's a pity, as I knew I was leading, but my desire to win was too strong and I was too anxious."

Despite his shooting 99 out of a 100 in his final 10 shots, it was not enough for a podium finish. He eventually finished fourth (573), behind Tuong (581), Vietnam's Son Pham Cao (577) and Thailand's Karndee Prakarn (574).

It was also a difficult outing for On, who had to manually dislodge the cartridge after each shot after his .32 Carl Walther ejector cracked during Thursday's practice.

"It was very tense because I only had seven seconds between each shot, and while other shooters could re-focus, I had to clear my weapon in time for the next shot," said On, who finished ninth (557).

Singapore finished the SEA Games sixth overall on the 11-country medal standings with 33 gold, 30 silver and 35 bronzes medals, with the shooters contributing six gold, five silver and five bronze. - TODAY