SEA Games 2025: ‘Very nice’ farewell for Jasmine Ser with shooting team gold
Sign up now: Get the biggest sports news in your inbox
(From left) Martina Amos, Jasmine Ser and Adele Tan posing with their medals after winning gold in the 50m air rifle 3-position team event.
PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO
Follow topic:
- Jasmine Ser, Adele Tan and Martina Amos won Singapore's first SEA Games gold in the women's 50m air rifle 3-position team event.
- The team tied with Malaysia at 1,717 points but won due to more inner 10s (65-57) as Thailand took bronze.
- Ser, retiring after competing for 20 years, described the win as "meaningful" and hopes the team will continue their "pursuit of excellence".
AI generated
BANGKOK – Coaxed out of retirement for one final assignment, Jasmine Ser had the perfect ending to her shooting career on Dec 17, when she teamed up with Adele Tan and Martina Amos to deliver Singapore’s first SEA Games women’s 50m rifle three-position team gold.
After hitting a Games record of 1,717 points, the trio pinched gold via a tiebreaker as they hit more inner 10s (65-57) in their combined 60 shots than Malaysia, who notched the same score at the Sports Authority of Thailand.
In the tense final, the hosts took bronze after finishing just one point behind.
Ser, who contributed 565 points and 16 inner 10s across the kneeling, prone and standing positions, is currently based in Australia where her husband, former national sailor Colin Cheng, is on a three-year contract for his post-doctorate research.
The 35-year-old, who plans to return to Singapore in 2026 to resume her role as a national junior coach after her two-year contract expires in March, teared up as she sang Majulah Singapura on the podium for the last time
She said: “I’ve been competing for the last 20 years or so and this is my last SEA Games.
“I’m going to retire after this, so this is really meaningful and I’m thankful for the opportunity to come back and represent Singapore with a strong team.”
Noting that she returned as the team did not have a third shooter, she added: “They reassured me and told me to just fire, with however little training I have, so I did that.
“I’m very proud of them for holding the fort today.
“I felt very rusty having not competed the whole year. So when Adele came and informed me we won with the record, I thought it was a good ending for the three of us and I hope they will continue this pursuit of excellence in the future.”
The veteran closes out her career with five golds, four silvers and three bronzes at eight SEA Games since her debut in 2007, when she claimed a women’s 10m air rifle gold at the same venue. She won three golds and two silvers at the Commonwealth Games and an Asian Games silver and competed at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.
Although it was a fairy-tale finish for the team, they were still overcome with emotion after their last outing as a trio.
Tan, 26, who also won a bronze in the individual event, said: “This whole year, there weren’t many opportunities to team up together because of our own personal commitments.
“When we heard that Jasmine was joining us, we were very happy. I’m very, very proud of the three of us, and especially Jasmine, for all the work we did.”
In the final, Amos chipped in with a score of 572 and 23 inner 10s, including one on her last shot which propelled the team from third to first.
The 26-year-old, formerly known by her maiden name Martina Veloso, also clinched bronzes in the women’s and mixed 10m air rifle team events.
She said: “I wasn’t really aware of how close it was because I didn’t do that great individually. But knowing we have a team medal at stake, I gave my best until the end which was a good inner 10.
“It was one shot that could determine whether it was a bronze or gold and I’m just very happy that Adele and I could give Jasmine a very nice finish towards the end of her career.”
