Story by Desiray Tay/Red Sports

Safra Yishun, Thursday, July 2, 2009 – Unlike the first 10m Air Rifle Junior Boys’ qualifying round which saw positions fluctuate and a hard fight between competitors for top spots, this second qualifier was dominated by the three top guns of Korea, China and Singapore.

The representatives of these 3 nations hit an average of 98 on their first set. Kazakhstan also looked promising, with their representative Akbar attaining a near perfect 99. The rest of the shooters faded off on the scoreboard, with scores on the lower-90 range.

China’s Wu Jia Ning lead the pack in the second set with his perfect score of 100. He looked to keep ahead of Korea and Singapore as they both hit only 95 and 97 respectively, but Singapore’s Wan Tian Chong replied with a 100 in his third set, tying Wu and himself for first place.

Meanwhile, aside from the three fiercest competitors, the other shooters finished up their series with looks of indifference as they watched their scores flash on the screen. Taipei’s Wang Wei-Lin, though, celebrated his fourth position with his coach.

Of the top 3 nations on their final set of the qualification round, Korea’s Kim Yeong-Jae went first, scoring a 96 and finishing with a total score of 581/600.

China’s Wu took his time in between shots, and looked to be falling asleep due to his deep breathing and lolling head. But he was anything but sleepy as he fired double 99s to propel China to first place with 587 points. It topped Korean Kim Yong’s 586 in the first heat, and sets the stage for an exciting final.

Singapore’s Wan Tian Chong scored a 99 as well, but he had to settle for second place with his score of 583. Nevertheless, he is still in with a medal shout.

Unlike the preliminaries, the final will see each competitor having only ten shots to determine their score. Even a minor lapse in concentration would be detrimental to their gold medal hopes. It makes this afternoon’s final even more exciting knowing that every shot counts!