Two of Singapore's top shooters, Jasmine Ser and Martina Veloso, will not compete at the upcoming SEA Games in the Philippines after they did not make the 585-athlete selection list announced by the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC) yesterday.

Olympic shooter Ser and Veloso, who won the women's 10m air rifle gold at the 2017 SEA Games, were not nominated for the Games after placing fourth and fifth respectively in the Singapore Shooting Association's (SSA) national trials for the event.

Teammates Adele Tan, Ho Xiu Yi and Tessa Neo earned the SSA's nomination for the 10m air rifle after finishing in the top three, with two athletes to make the final cut.

Ser and Veloso are currently the highest-ranked shooters in the 50m rifle three-positions, which is not on the competition calendar at this Games. Ser, 28, had claimed gold in the event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, two years ago.

Veloso, 19, said: "My stronger event - the 50m rifle three-positions - is not contested at this SEA Games and our bigger goal is next year's Olympics, so some of us are focusing more on the World Cup stops and Asian Championships."

The Asian Championships take place in Qatar from Nov 3-11. There is also a World Cup stop in China from Nov 17-24.

SSA president Michael Vaz added: "While our shooters were given the option to pass on the SEA Games, all of them entered qualification and Adele, Xiu Yi and Tessa beat Jasmine and Martina.

"While we value the SEA Games, the World Cup and Asian Championships are more important as we aim to qualify and do well in Tokyo 2020. Jasmine, Martina and our star shooters remain on track to do so."

Team Singapore will also compete in a number of new and unusual sports in the Philippines. These include breaking (break dancing), e-sports, beach handball, kurash (a traditional folk wrestling sport), sambo (a martial art), skateboarding, surfing and underwater hockey.

At the 2017 Games, the contingent won a record away haul of 58 golds, 59 silvers and 71 bronzes.