SINGAPORE - Teo Shun Xie and Teh Xiu Hong rebounded from missing out on an air pistol women's team bronze to partner Nicole Tan and claim the 25m pistol women's team silver at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, Egypt on Sunday (March 6).
They were beaten 17-13 by India's Rahi Sarnobat, Rhythm Sangwan and Esha Singh in the final.
On Wednesday, Teo and Teh, along with Amanda Mak, had lost 16-8 to Chinese Taipei in the third-place play-off for the air pistol team event.
But there were no such issues for the 25m pistol women's trio as they topped the first qualification stage on Friday, before placing second in Saturday's second qualification stage to progress to the final against India.
Teo, 33, credited the team's "support ecosystem" that includes family, friends and high performance staff from the Singapore Shooting Association (SSA) for helping them get over the disappointment of the missed medal earlier.
She said: "After each competition, we would always take the time to reflect and review what we could have done better as well as what we have done well during competition. There will also be a team discussion, whereby Nicole and Xiu Hong would share their views and experiences.
"In addition, our sports psychologist Dr Harry Lim will also offer us some advice after each competition. We are always learning and seeking to improve so that we will be even better prepared mentally and technically for the next competition."
Under the new formats at the World Cup, each of the three athletes fire five shots per round in the 25m pistol team event. The team with the highest number of hits per round win two points, and one point if the scores are tied. A hit is a score of 10.2 or more for each shot. The first team to reach 16 points win gold.
Tan, 31, said: "I think this format is more challenging than before. It really tests the endurance both mentally and physically of the athletes.
"The biggest difference is that it counts the wins by the sets instead of an accumulated number of hits which actually pushes athletes to show consistency in their performance. It does seem like a fairer system but it is longer than the previous format.
"We have to train our endurance more while maintaining consistency in all our shots because a hit is 10.2 and above so 10.1s which are actually already precise has to be better throughout the entire process."
In the 25m pistol women's team final, the teams were neck and neck until 13-13, when the Indians out-shot the Singaporeans in the last two rounds to win their country's third gold at the event.
Teh, who turns 28 on Friday, said: "We are a little disappointed but it was a good fight with Team India. They have always been a strong opponent and we managed to come very close to winning so I'm also very proud and thankful for my teammates' efforts.
"This is my first World Cup medal so it is very significant and a big confidence booster for me ahead of a busy year."
Teo and Lim Swee Hon on Monday added another bronze in the 25m rapid fire pistol mixed team event, as they beat Indonesia’s Totok Tri Martanto and Talitha Judith Almira 16-14 in the third-place play-off.
It was Singapore’s third medal as Ho Xiu Yi, Adele Tan and Fernel Tan took bronze in the air rifle women’s team event last Wednesday. The shooters will now look ahead to the May 12-23 South-east Asian Games and qualifying for the Sept 10-25 Asian Games.
SSA high performance manager Jeanine Heng said: "The team performances for 10m air rifle women, 10m air pistol women and 25m pistol women show our strength in team events. Although the format will be different at the SEA Games and Asian Games, it still boosts our confidence that it is possible for us be one of the best in the region.
"The individual scores give us some indication that we likely could final at most events at the SEA Games and hope all the finals experiences the team have had during these few months gives them a leg-up for the SEA Games. This is especially so after a lack of competition over two years.
"As for Asian Games, we will need to work harder for sure as some of the best teams like China and South Korea were not in Cairo. But our main goal and focus is to get to the 2024 Olympics as the qualification process would likely begin this year."
