By Terrence Voon
The Youth Olympic Games’ shooting competition ended yesterday with the crack of a single heart breaking.
Carol Lee, the host nation’s top teenage shooter, finished seventh in the girls’ 10-metre air rifle event.
The result was too much to bear for Carol, who had trained for six years and put her A levels on hold for the YOG.
The National Junior College student dissolved into tears at the end of the 10-shot final, and had to be comforted by officials and fellow competitors.
Choking back sobs, she said: “For all these six years, I have sacrificed everything to get here.
“If there is anybody who is not happy with my performance, I would say to them, ‘Sorry, I couldn’t do it’.
“I tried, I tried my best, but I really couldn’t do it.”
Touted as a medal hope before the Games, the 18-year-old had been determined to win at least a bronze for Singapore.
But up against shooters from powerhouses like South Korea, Germany and India, the odds were heavily stacked against her.
Carol’s task became even tougher after the qualifying shoot. Although she reached the final, her score of 393 left her in sixth place, a massive six points adrift of leading shooter Yvonne Schlotterbeck of Germany.
The gap proved too wide. Carol slipped to seventh after posting 100.2 points in the 10-shot final for a combined score of 493.2.
The gold medal went to South Korean Go Dowon (500.1), the silver medallist in the same event at last year’s Asian Youth Games.
Gabriela Vognarova of the Czech Republic (498.6) took the silver while the bronze went to Swiss shooter Jasmin Mischler (498.1).
Said Carol, who came in fourth at last year’s Asian Airgun Championships: “The same thing happened to (Chinese shooter) Du Li at the Beijing Olympics.
“She was on home ground, the stress was too much. It sounds like an excuse but I really don’t know what else to say.”
National coach Zhang Manzheng, who consoled Carol after the final, said the YOG had been a good learning experience for his charge.
“There will be other chances in the future,” he said. “She will learn from this, train harder and bounce back stronger.”
Carol will now train her sights on her studies and take her A levels next year. She also hopes to redeem herself by qualifying for the 2016 Olympics.
“My next target is to pick myself up,” she added.
“I’m a bit disappointed but I’m happy I got into the final. I can say to the world that I’m a Youth Olympic finalist. That’s an achievement in itself.”
