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Shooter Tessa Neo earns Singapore a spot at Tokyo Olympics air rifle event

Singapore national shooter Tessa Neo with her silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle competition at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha. (PHOTO: Singapore Shooting Association)
Singapore national shooter Tessa Neo with her silver medal in the women's 10m air rifle competition at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha. (PHOTO: Singapore Shooting Association)

SINGAPORE — National shooter Tessa Neo earned Singapore a spot at next year’s Tokyo Olympics women’s 10m air rifle competition, after qualifying for the event final at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha on Tuesday (5 November).

The 21-year-old eventually clinched a silver medal, becoming the first Singaporean shooter to finish on the podium in the event at the championships. She scored 251.4 points to finish behind China’s Yang Qian (251.6 points) and ahead of South Korea’s Jung Eun-hea (228.9 points).

“After knowing we got the quota, I was feeling motivated to try my best to win something for the team and for Singapore,” Neo told The Straits Times after her silver win.

"At the moment, it hasn't completely sunk in. I just feel extremely thankful.”

Squeezing in as final qualifier

This is the first time Singapore has earned a quota spot based on merit in the women’s 10m air rifle discipline. Neo clinched it by squeezing in as the eighth and final qualifier for the competition final, with the other seven shooters already earning their Olympic spots.

The quota spot, however, does not automatically qualify Neo for the Tokyo Olympics, as the final decision on who should represent the country lies with the Singapore Shooting Association and Singapore National Olympic Council.

At the previous Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, Jasmine Ser earned a spot after finishing first in the women's 50m three-positions event at an Asian qualifying event in New Delhi.

Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Grace Fu congratulated Neo for her efforts in a Facebook post put up on Tuesday night.

“Congratulations to our Team Singapore shooter Tessa Neo for clinching a silver medal at the Asian Shooting Championships,” she wrote. “We share your joy and are very proud of you.”

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