Finally a gold medal for Teh

The women's 25m pistol final had already concluded but it took a few moments before Teh Xiu Hong realised what she had achieved.

Looking up at the screen at the Hanoi National Sports Training Centre, the 28-year-old saw her name at the top of the competitors' list.

With a score of 34, she had finally won the gold after two runner-up placings in 2015 and 2017. It was the Republic's first title in this discipline since Nicole Tan's win at the 2013 Games.

Malaysia's Alia Sazana Azahari (33) was second while Thai Tanyaporn Prucksakorn (28) was third. Compatriot Teo Shun Xie (22) finished fourth out of eight finalists.

Teh attributed her success this time to a winning mantra of taking it "one shot at a time".

Said Teh, who made her debut at the 2013 Games: "When I saw my name on the screen, it just felt surreal.

"I had been fully focused on each shot I took and giving it my best in every one. Throughout the years, I have been training hard and today, I am technically better than I was in previous years and I also have had so much of experience."

Her win also meant that after missing out on a gold medal at the last edition in 2019 - the first time the Republic failed to win a shooting gold since 1991 - Singapore's shooters finally broke their duck.

Aware that she had helped to end the drought, Teh said: "I didn't think about that before the final because I was focused. But I am very happy that I managed to break it and bring some reward to everyone's efforts."

While Teh is at her fifth Games, debutante Fernel Tan, 20, is just getting started.

Yesterday, she and Gai Tianrui bagged a silver in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, adding to the bronze she and sister Adele Tan and teammate Natanya Tan won in the 10m air rifle women's team on Monday.

The Singaporeans were defeated 16-10 by Indonesia's Citra Dewi Resti and Fathur Gustafian in the final.

But it was a sign of Fernel's desire for excellence that she was not satisfied with silver.

She said: "There is more improvement to be done. I could have done better in terms of controlling my emotions. I have to maintain my composure for every shot."

Fernel paid tribute to Teh and sister Adele, saying: "They have served as great inspiration.

"This is my first major Games and I have learnt a lot. They've set a great example for me to follow."

The shooting contingent has now won four medals in Hanoi. In 2019, Singapore took home one silver and four bronze medals.