Golden trio Bibiana Ng (left), Wahidah Ismail (third left) Joseline Cheah (right) pose with coach Hashim Desa after winning the team 10m air pistol event at the SEASA Championships in Singapore on Wednesday.
KUALA LUMPUR: Shooters Joseline Cheah, Wahidah Ismail and Bibiana Ng bounced back from their disappointment to win at the South-East Asia Shooting Association (SEASA) Championships in Singapore.
On Wedneday, the trio made amends for not making the cut for last month’s Asian Games and an unfruitful challenge in the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in August in style. They combined superbly in the women’s 10m air pistol, amassing 1,124 points – 10 points more than second-placed Taiwan. Hosts Singapore ended in third spot with 1,113 points.
Wahidah and Joseline also qualified for the individual final but failed to make the top three.
The team gold is Malaysia’s first in the ongoing SEASA and it shows that the shooters are shaping up well for the next year’s SEA Games, which would be held at the same venue in June.
Just two months ago, the pistol shooters came under fire after returning home without any medals at the Glasgow Games.
Wahidah, who was the individual gold medal winner at last year’s SEASA championships, was happy that the women’s pistol team ended their campaign this year with a bang.
“It is an important win for us today. We did not win any medal at Glasgow and I was overlooked for the Asian Games. So, it is great that we can finally end our season on high,” said the 24-year-old Wahidah.
Both Joseline and Bibiana believed that the team’s success was a sign for better things to come.
“I was disappointed when I failed to qualify for the Asian Games as I was looking forward to it. I am glad that we have put all those past disappointments behind,” said Bibiana.
“A good end here is a good sign to start the new year,” chipped in Joseline.
On Tuesday, the men won a silver in the 50m air pistol team event and a bronze in the 10m air rifle team event
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