Shooters back in competition mode for Asian Games

It is akin to being punched in the gut, to fumble at a discipline that you favour, sweat and bleed for, even love.

At July's Glasgow Commonwealth Games that's exactly what happened to Jasmine Ser.

She bungled the 10-metre air rifle, her pet event, finishing a disappointing fourth.

But, she bounced back spectacularly in the final shooting event, winning the 50m three-position event, setting two Games' records - 581 in the qualifiers and 449.1 in the finals.

The secret to her prowess, she told The New Paper then, was a simple mantra - one that the Republic's shooters will surely fall back upon as the Incheon Asian Games shooting competition fires off today.

"You need to be able to forget, and then to focus." 

Shooting has been rocked by the health issues of  pistol shooter Hoong Shixiang, who required surgery here on Monday to remove his infected appendix before withdrawing from the competition and returning to Singapore.

COMPETITION MODE

But, in accordance with Ser's mantra, team manager Ng Jing Hui yesterday insisted that her shooters' minds have been calmed and tuned back to competition mode.

Today, the Republic's men's pistol team will do battle at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range. 

Addressing Hoong's health scare, Ng said: "Some of the shooters went to the hospital with me to visit him, and all is well after knowing that Shixiang is recovering very well from the surgery.

"Everybody is also at ease after knowing that Shixiang's mum came here to accompany him and take care of him.

"The team are fully focused on the competition and not distracted by the incident."

Hoong was initially pencilled in for the men's 10m and 50m pistol events, with his scores contributing to the men's team score in the respective events. 

With his withdrawal, veteran 45-year-old Poh Lip Meng will stand in for both events.

These will be over and above the 25m centre fire and 25m standard events that Poh will compete in. 

Stillness, routine, and a quiet mind are key in a sport where the difference between the great and the forgotten is measured in mere millimetres. 

When the weapon is raised, the eye is trained on the target, Singapore's shooters will forget Hoong.

But as Ser has made clear, that blanking out does not stem from a lack of emotion, but is, instead, a show of mental strength.

Indeed, the exercise of forgetting has already started in the athletes' village, which is equipped with a host of welcome distractions.  

"The athlete services centre has definitely helped the shooters to relax and enjoy together," said Ng.

"Some of the rifle shooters even went to the live band room (where musical instruments are provided for athletes' use) and had their own mini-jamming session." 

The shooters came back from the 2010 Guangzhou Games with nothing to show for their efforts, and the key to setting that record straight here is in their heads. 

To that end, the shooters have been wrapped up in cotton wool, away from the media, to immerse in their own thoughts.

Ser and Teo Shun Xie bagged gold at Commonwealth Games in July and are in good form, along with 14-year-old World Cup winner Martina Veloso, who could be a darkhorse. 

But the men are up first.

Yesterday at the opening ceremony, Poh scooted over to teammate Lim Swee Hon, trying to convince him that the green can of lemonade he was sipping was in actual fact, beer.  

As they both cracked up in laughter, it was evident, the men have forgotten events of the last week. 

Now for the second bit - focus.

"You need to be able to forget, and then to focus."

- Shooter Jasmine Ser’s mantra