Loh wins gold without firing a single arrow

Contessa Loh won the gold via a walkover after Thai authorities cancelled her final opponent's visa. PHOTO: WORLD ARCHERY ASIA
Contessa Loh won the gold via a walkover after Thai authorities cancelled her final opponent's visa. PHOTO: WORLD ARCHERY ASIA

She did not know it then, but a spirited comeback in Thursday's semi-finals was enough for archer Contessa Loh to win Singapore's first women's gold medal at the first leg of the Asia Cup in Bangkok.

She trailed Adel Zhexenbinova twice in the 15-shot match, but kept her composure and focus to triumph 143-142 and advance to the final of the individual compound event yesterday.

Loh, 25, was scheduled to face another Kazakh, Diana Makarchuk, but was awarded the gold after her opponent and teammates abruptly left Bangkok on Friday night.

Thai authorities had cancelled the visas for the central Asians and 17 other countries as part of their measures to combat the coronavirus outbreak.

Loh told The Sunday Times over the phone: "It was all very sudden. (Makarchuk) and I were very excited about facing each other because all the scores up to that point had been very close."

Still, the Singaporean was pleased with how her year's first outdoor competition unfolded.

She had beaten another Kazakh, Viktoriya Lyan, 145-140 in the quarter-finals before her match against Zhexenbinova.

In the semi-finals, Loh was trailing by a point with three arrows left, but her two 10s and a nine score proved enough to seal the final place, and ultimately the gold.

"(The win) feels good because this is something I've worked towards since last year," she said.

"I finished the same stage third last year, then I had a bit of a slump, finishing fourth at the SEA Games (in the Philippines in December).

"I worked a lot with my sports team trying to find new ways to improve.

"And I think I came into this competition with a stronger mindset."

The Bangkok tournament drew 118 archers from 12 countries. It is the first of four scheduled Asia Cup legs, with the next leg in Gwangju, South Korea, from May 22-27.

Loh, who is a SpexScholar, added that the win in Bangkok was a boost to her ambitions of qualifying for the Archery World Cup finals, scheduled for Shanghai from Sept 26-27.

Although the competition and its qualifying events are in doubt because of the Covid-19 situation, Loh is keeping a positive outlook.

"Right now, it's a lot of watching and monitoring how things unfold. In the meantime, I'll just go back and keep shooting," she said.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on March 15, 2020, with the headline Loh wins gold without firing a single arrow. Subscribe