Johnathan Wong and Joseline Cheah win bronze in mixed team air pistol after a weak qualifying round dashes their gold medal hopes in Bangkok.
BANGKOK: The gold medal hopes of Malaysian shooters Johnathan Wong and Joseline Cheah were dashed by a weak performance in the qualifying round of the mixed team 10m air pistol event at the SEA Games today.
The duo, however, recovered to secure a bronze medal by defeating Myanmar’s pairing of Khaing Khaing Wai and Ye Tun Naung 16-8 in the bronze medal decider.
They scored 563 points in the qualifiers, placing fifth out of six competing teams and missing the gold medal match.
Johnathan admitted their qualifying performance affected their chances but described the bronze as a significant win for Malaysia in the mixed team event.
“Our target today was actually the gold medal decider but unfortunately we performed less than satisfactory in the qualifying round,” he said.
He added that they performed well in the final and hoped to do better at the upcoming SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur.
Teammate Joseline said she felt pressure to improve after winning a bronze in the women’s team event yesterday.
“Today I feel pressured a bit, because I have seen what I could improve yesterday, so today I felt like doing better but the outcome wasn’t what I thought,” she said.
The gold medal was won by Indonesians Muhamad Iqbal Raia Prabowo and Putri Darmoyo Arista Perdana, who beat Vietnam’s Trinh Thu Vinh and Pham Quang Huy 17-9. – Bernama
