Story by Desiray Tay/Red Sports

Safra Yishun, Thursday, July 2, 2009 – The atmosphere was nervy and the tension could be cut with a knife, and yet as all 23 shooters of the Asian Youth Games Boys’ 10m Air Rifle qualification relay lined up, their faces were calm oases of concentration.

This was the first of 2 shoot-outs, with the top 8 scores collated from both relays advancing to the final.

Scores started streaming in and the 3 shooters from Korea, Kazakhstan and Thailand finished way ahead of the others. Their anxiety was not over as they had to wait to see if their scores would keep them at the top.

As the positions fluctuated, only Kim Yong of Korea and Kazakhstan’s Ignatenko stayed firmly in their positions with scores of 586/600 and 578/600 respectively.

Some uttered mental prayers, kissed their rifles, wiped their perspiration-beaded hands while others simply took a deep breath. It was crucial for them to be in their own zone of concentration and not let the scores of others who have already finished affect them.

Abel Lim, the first of 2 Singapore representatives, took his time, concentrating and positioning himself for the best shot, and aiming to do Singapore proud. His scores at this point were 93, 97, 99, 98, and they looked good enough to bring him to the finals. But at which position will he finish at?

China’s Gao Ting Jie then shot a perfect 100 in his fourth series, and his next two frames would determine if he overtakes Kim Yong. After a pep-talk from his coach, he went on to attain two consecutive 96s and finally finished with a score of 584, just two points shy of Kim Yong. China was now second in ranking.

The range gradually began to clear as there were only half of the shooters left. Abel was one of them, and he finished strongly, scoring consecutive 99s for a total of 585. His face was a complete switch from his serious countenance to one of elation as his final score ousted China for second place in this heat.

The second qualification relay is due to start, with Singapore’s second representative, Wan Tian Chong in the line up. Will Singapore have two shooters in the Boys’ final today? Hopefully so!