A three-way sudden-death shoot-out that would decide who would win the coveted men's individual trap gold.

In Bangkok's afternoon heat yesterday, Singapore's Lee Wung Yew and Thailand's Atig Kitcharoen wilted.

Only one gunslinger stood tall: Singapore's Mohamed Zain Amat.

All three men had ended the final round tied on 125 after 150 birds.

With two Singaporeans in the mix, the Republic were a good bet for gold, whispered spectators.

But when Lee, a 15-time SEA Games gold medallist, was eliminated after missing his third shot, the tension mounted on Zain's shoulders.

Said the police regular: 'I thought to myself, mati mati (die die) Singapore must win.'

He got his wish, even though Kitcharoen was in good form.

Like Zain, the Thai had shot down five birds in a row.

But, when his rival missed his sixth shot, the Singaporean did not hesitate.

His next target shattered in a plume of red smoke, and the gold was Singapore's.

'Did I win?' he asked anxiously.

The wide grins and whoops from his onrushing teammates was the only answer he needed.

The gold was Zain's second of the day, after he helped the Republic secure first place in the men's trap team event.

Not bad, for someone who converted to trap shooting less than two years ago.

At the 2005 Games in Manila, Zain had also won a gold, but in his pet event, the double trap.

'I was not expected to win in the trap, so there was no pressure at all,' he said.

But the heat was definitely on teammate and individual defending champion Choo Choon Seng, who nearly fluffed his lines in the morning's team shoot.

Having shot to the top of the individual leaderboard with an excellent 69 out of 75 shots, Choo had also helped Singapore to a 10-shot overnight lead in the team event.

But a disastrous 14 birds out of 25 in the second day's opening shoot saw the Republic's lead whittled down to two.

A distraught Choo left the range immediately to seek team psychologist Zhao Junhong's counsel.

He returned half an hour later and promptly shot 22 out of 25 birds for the next shoot and a two-day total of 105.

Lee had fired a 107, while Zain had a 106.

The trio's total of 318 was enough for Singapore to retain their 2005 title ahead of second-placed Philippines - though Choo did not know that immediately.

After finishing his shoot, he was approached by a sombre-looking Zain and Lee, who told him that Singapore had lost the gold.

Choo let out a scream of joy and hugged his teammates when he wised up to their prank.

'They bluffed me that we got second,' said Choo with a laugh. 'Those two chaps owe me for this.'

There was another reason why the team gold came as a relief.

The night before, all three shooters had made a solemn vow: To dedicate a gold medal to the families of the five Singapore dragon-boaters who lost their lives in Cambodia last week.

Said Zain: 'We are also athletes, so we feel for them.'

More golds for Singapore could yet arrive in the double trap events, which start tomorrow.

That is why the team will not be celebrating just yet, said Singapore Shooting Association president Chng Seng Mok.

'This SEA Games is the most exciting I've seen,'' said Chng. himself a former gold medallist.

'But tonight, we shall have dinner only - we are not done yet.'