Off day for skeet ace Joseph

IT WAS not the start national skeet shooter Joseph Lee Joon Kit had hoped for, but the battle is far from over with two more days to make his mark.

Joseph scored 44 points from 50 shots at the Aichi Prefectural Shooting Range yesterday, leaving him six points behind leader Ahmed Mohammed of the United Arab Emirates, who shot a perfect 50.

The 29-year-old still has two more days to fight his way into the top eight and qualify for the final.

Coach Jeff Gan Kong Leong admitted it was not Joseph’s best performance but remains confident his charge can bounce back.

“He’s shooting like normal, I had a conversation with him and he seems quite fine,” said the former national shotgun athlete.

“He just made some careless mistakes, and it wasn’t what we expected. This isn’t his true score. He’s capable of reaching above 120 in the next two rounds.”

Jeff explained that a mechanical issue compounded Joseph’s difficulties in the opening round, where he was expected to hit 25 but managed only 23.

Joseph, who took up the sport at 15, has enjoyed a strong recent run of form.

He won a bronze medal at the 2025 SEA Games in Thailand and a silver medal at the Asian Shotgun Cup in Linfen, China, where he set a new national record of 122 out of 125 in qualification.

Jeff, who has guided Joseph since the passing of his long-time coach Richard Cheong three years ago, has accompanied the shooter to major competitions including World Cups and the Asian Games since stepping in.

RESULTS

Men’s qualification

Skeet: 1. Ahmed Mohammed (UAE) 50 pts, 2. Lee Meng-Yuan (Tpe) 49, 3. Rashid Salleh Al-Athba (Qat) 49. Selected: 31. Joseph Lee Joon Kit 44.