SINGAPORE - Thailand clinched both gold and silver medals in the men's 50m rifle prone position competition at the National Shooting Range on Wednesday.
Veteran shooter Attapon Uea-Aree had led the qualifying round, and was hot favourite to win the gold, but he ceded top spot in the individual final to debuting compatriot Supalerk Wijan, losing by a mere 0.6 points.
Malaysia's Mohamed Hadafi Jaafar won the bronze (183.6 points).
"It might just be beginner's luck, we will keep watching him," said Thailand's rifle shooting coach Alona Fedorova, who has been with the team since the last Asian Games. Like the team's other coaches, she was surprised by Supalerk's excellent performance.
Singapore's only representative in the final, Lim Zhong Xian, also a debutant at the 28th SEA Games, finished seventh with a score 99.4 points.
After Wednesday's competitions, Thailand lead the shooting medal charts with 20 medal (12 golds, five silvers, three bronzes). Singapore are second 15 medals (three golds, seven silvers, five bronzes).
