SEA Games: Focus, hard work and determination leads Martina to air rifle gold

KUALA LUMPUR — He had previously never watched his daughter, national shooter Martina Veloso, compete outside of Singapore.

But Melvin Veloso finally decided to do so this year, as he travelled to Kuala Lumpur to watch Martina in action at the 29th South-East Asian (SEA) Games.

He could not have chosen a better time or occasion, as his daughter secured her first-ever individual SEA Games gold at the National Shooting Range in Subang on Friday afternoon (Aug 25).

The 17-year-old emerged victorious in the women’s 10m air rifle final after posting a new Games record score of 247.7 points.

She finished ahead of teammate Jasmine Ser, who made it a one-two finish for Singapore with a score of 247.3. Thailand's Nawinda Kasemkiatthai took the bronze with a score of 221.7.

Melvin’s presence at the competition clearly meant a lot to Martina, as she immediately turned to her father with a wide smile on her face the moment she realised she had won the gold.

“It’s the first competition outside of Singapore that my father has come in person to support me, so I’m very happy that I won the gold when he’s here,” said Martina, who won a historic gold in the women’s 10m air rifle at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in 2014.

The teenager’s victory however, was far from straightforward, and was only secured right at the death with her final shot.

Going into the final round of shooting, Martina found herself 0.9 points behind the near-irrepressible Ser, who had topped the leaderboard right from the start.

Ser, however, was only able to shoot a total of 20.2 in the final round, which opened the door for her to be overtaken by Martina.

The Nanyang Polytechnic student seized the opportunity with both hands, literally, as she held her nerve to shoot a total score of 21.5, which meant she finished 0.4 points ahead of Ser.

This will be Martina's first individual medal of the SEA Games. She had finished third in this event at the 2015 edition on home soil but was denied the bronze due to competition rules. Her compatriots Tessa Neo and Ser had won the gold and silver respectively, which meant the final podium spot could not be occupied by another Singaporean.

She was determined to win a medal this time but admitted that the gold was a huge surprise.

“I was in second place the whole time, and I knew that Jasmine was in the lead throughout,” explained Martina. “I was actually content with silver, because at least it’s behind my team-mate.

“But in the final round, I just told myself to focus on getting my best shots out and go through my shooting process as per normal. I didn’t take notice of the scores at all, so it was unexpected to find out that I had won the gold.

“This victory certainly exceeded my expectations, and it means a lot to me because it shows that my hard work for the past two years has paid off. With the help of my coach (Hashemi Elham), I was able to redeem myself (after failing to win a medal at the 2015 Games).”

Ser said the Games’ official’s command for them to fire their final shot came late, and as a result, had disrupted her as she could only score 9.7 points.

“On my part, I should have paid closer attention to the command, but usually they would say start within the five seconds,” said Ser, who triggered her shot almost immediately after the command was given.

“I wasn't quick (to shoot), it's more he (the official) was slow. I think he forgot to say 'start', so Martina put down the gun, but I was already in the zone and ready to trigger. So when he finally gave the command to fire, it seemed like I shot almost immediately. It could have been worse though, because I almost pulled the trigger before he gave the go-ahead.”

Despite losing the gold in such dramatic fashion, Ser insists she is pleased with how she did at this year’s Games, and hailed Martina as a worthy winner.

“This is the first time at the SEA Games where I feel like I finally found peace in shooting…I was just enjoying every single shot,” said the 26-year-old. “So overall, I'm really happy with my performance today, and I don't feel any regret at missing out on the gold because it's another Singaporean who has won it.

“I'm proud of (Martina) and every rifle woman athlete in Singapore. They’re young and fearless, and brings with them a lot of positive energy and drive.

“So I need to keep up the pace with the youngsters, and I think this is a very good environment for me where everyone grows and improve together. As you can see from this Games, our standards are improving, and I'm happy that we have such a talented pool of shooters.”

Both shooters will be in action again on Saturday in the women’s 50m 3 position.

And Ser, who was Team Singapore’s flag bearer at this year’s Games opening ceremony, says she is eager to bounce back from missing out on the gold when she competes in her pet event.

“Yes, (not winning today) probably makes me hungrier for the gold tomorrow,” Ser, an employee with Deloitte Singapore, declared.

“I didn't do well at the last SEA Games in the 50m 3 position event because I was tired, but this time round, I'll try to get a good night's sleep and come back tomorrow strongly.”