by starsport team
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| (From left) Johnathan Wong, Abdul Hadi Abdul Malek and Eddy Chew pose for photographers after winning the bronze medal for the men's 50m free pistol team event at North Dagon in Yangon. |
EIGHTEEN-year-old Eddy Chew was as surprised as everybody else after gunning down a gold medal in the men’s 50m free pistol individual final at the North Dagon Shooting Range in Yangon.
The Bukit Jalil Sports School student overcame his nerves as well as home crowd favourite Naung Ye Tun in the final to deliver Malaysia’s first gold medal in Yangon at the SEA Games.
Games rookie Eddy could not contain his joy, and shock, when he was the last man standing after a nerve-racking eight-man elimination final.
Eddy had trailed Naung by 1.9 points heading into the final two shots but overcame the deficit to win by a narrow 0.7 point margin.
He collected 186.4 points, with Naung finishing with a 185.7 total. Johnathan Wong, 21, added joy to the Malaysian camp by winning the bronze with a 166.0 total.
“Nobody is more surprised than me to win the gold medal at my first attempt in the SEA Games. I came here with the intention of doing my best and to learn from the experience. I am totally speechless now,” said the shooter who hails from Batu Pahat, Johor.
“I was very nervous during the final as the lead kept changing hands between me and the Myanmar shooter. The pressure was more on him to win in front of his home crowd and I kept my nerves in check to win at the end.”
Eddy’s victory ended Malaysia’s 30-year wait for a gold in the men’s 50m free pistol event.
Shooting team manager Datuk Sabiamad Ahad was the country’s last winner at the 1983 Singapore Games.
“I am proud of my young charges for rising to the occasion today. We were confident of winning at least one gold in shooting in Myanmar, but did not expect it to come from this event,” said Sabiamad.
“The level among the entire field was about the same, and Eddy hit it right at the right moment to seize the opportunity.”
Eddy had qualified for the eight-men final in fourth spot in the preliminary round with 548 points, with Johnathan fifth on 546.
The third Malaysian shooter in the fray, 17-year-old Abdul Hadi Malek, was placed 15 out of 16 shooters with 524 points.
But Hadi did not go empty-handed as the combined preliminary round scores of the three youngest Malaysian shooters in Myanmar were good enough to secure the bronze in the team event. The trio accumulated 1,618 points over six rounds.
Vietnam won the team gold with 1,649 points, and Singapore took the silver on 1,637 points.
