SEA Games: Redemption achieved as Jasmine Ser fires her way back to the top

KUALA LUMPUR – Even after she had fired her last shot in the South-East Asian (SEA) Games women’s 50m 3 positions final on Saturday (Aug 26), national shooter Jasmine Ser continued to look straight ahead at the target in front of her and refused to turn to look at the scoreboard.

Maybe the 26-year-old was just readying herself for the possibility of a shoot-off in the event of a tie between her and closest challenger Ratchadaporn Plengsaengthong of Thailand.

Or perhaps she was simply afraid at the prospect of drinking from the cup of bitter disappointment for a second day in a row, after she was narrowly pipped to the gold by team-mate Martina Veloso in the women’s 10m air rifle on Friday (Aug 25).

The moment it was announced that Ser had won the gold however, her stoic demeanour finally cracked.

Raising her rifle in the air with both hands in joy, she immediately turned to the spectator stands to celebrate with the Singapore supporters – which included her uncle, aunt and cousins, as well as Culture, Community and Youth Minister Grace Fu – who had turned up at the national shooting range in Subang to watch her and Martina in action.

But a mixture of emotions – elation, relief, and exhaustion – soon overwhelmed Ser, as she broke down at the range and started crying.

And Ser, who posted a new SEA Games record score of 451.2 points to beat silver and bronze medallists Plengsaengthong (449.3) and Malaysia’s Nur Suryani Mohd Taibi (434.6), still appeared emotional when she spoke to the media after the event.

“I'm very tired. It wasn't easy…yesterday (in the 10m air rifle) was a good lesson (for me), and I had to learn to pick myself up for today,” said Ser, whose last individual SEA Games gold medal came in 2009.

“It's a tough competition that I've been fighting since yesterday morning to conquer, so it's quite draining, but I finally managed to do it.”

“It's been a long time since I got myself an individual gold, but I just kept focused on improving all these years, and I’ve won different matches in other competitions, but somehow just not the SEA Games individual gold.

“So being able to close this year’s Games by finally getting a gold myself is just satisfying. But this is not the end for me. This is just the beginning (for the next season).”

Indeed, Ser had to fight hard for her gold following a slow start in the first two positions – kneeling and prone – as she entered the final position (standing) in fifth place.

The Singaporean Olympian however, found her groove in the standing position as she fired off a series of high-scoring shots – including an incredible 10.9 pointer – which saw her climb up the leaderboard in dramatic fashion.

Leading Plengsaengthong by 1.5 points heading into the final shot, Ser kept her cool and fired a 10.4, while her Thai opponent was only able to score a 10.

Ser said that she never lost hope of winning gold even though she did not enjoy the best of starts in the final.

“When I heard I was fifth (after the prone position), I brushed off the thought because I knew the competition wasn't over yet,” said Ser.

“I was just busy correcting my mistakes and trying to focus on doing what was needed to improve on my previous scores.

“The standing (position) is one of the most challenging, where the scores can change drastically, so I just hung on to the belief that I could turn it around.”

When asked what it was that helped her score so high during the standing position segment, Ser, an employee with Deloitte, simply replied: “Courage.”

She added: “It’s the courage to pull the trigger at the right moment…when you do your routine (properly) and trust in it to fire off the shot. Sometimes when you do that, it just clicks and you can get a high score like a 10.9.”

Ser, who will take part in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup final in New Delhi, India, in October, insists that despite winning the SEA Games gold, she will not allow herself to be complacent and will continue to work hard to improve.

“I know that in every competition that I go for now, until my final one – if it ever comes – will not be easy,” said Ser. “Even the SEA Games is difficult, so I remind myself to train hard and stay humble so as to bring the best out of myself.

“I'm also very glad that I’m part of a strong women’s rifle team that has young shooters like Martina challenging me. Being the oldest in the team of shooters, I have to keep driving myself much more to keep ahead and to improve together with them.”