Martina Lindsay Veloso becomes first Singaporean gold medalist at Commonwealth Games 2018

Shooting - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Women's 10m Air Rifle - Final - Belmont Shooting Centre - Brisbane, Australia - April 9, 2018. Gold medallist Martina Lindsay Veloso of Singapore, silver medallist Mehuli Ghosh of India and bronze medallist
Shooting - Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games - Women's 10m Air Rifle - Final - Belmont Shooting Centre - Brisbane, Australia - April 9, 2018. Gold medallist Martina Lindsay Veloso of Singapore, silver medallist Mehuli Ghosh of India and bronze medallist Apurvi Chandela of India pose with medals and Borobi plush dolls. Reuters

Singapore's Martina Lindsay Veloso won gold in the women's 10m air rifle event at 21st Commonwealth Games on Monday and finished with a score of 247.2.

The 18-year-old shooter defeated India's Mehuli Ghosh and Apurvi Chandela, who bagged silver and bronze respectively in the same event.

Ghosh lost to eventual champion Veloso in the shoot-off after both were tied at a CWG record score of 247.2 in the final. In the shoot-off, Martina shot 10.3 and Ghosh scored 9.9, securing the gold and silver medals, respectively.

Ghosh was trailing Veloso till the last shot in the final. But she ensured some late drama by scoring 10.9 with her last shot to take the issue into the shoot-off.

Apurvi, the defending champion got the bronze with 225.3. Earlier she set a new CWG record of 423.2 to clinch the top spot in the qualifying stage. She beat her own previous CWG record of 415.6 which was set at the 2014 edition in Glasgow, Scotland.

The gold is Veloso's first-ever medal at the Commonwealth Games, as she finished fifth in the 2014 Glasgow Games.

In 2017, the first gold medalist in 21st CWG from Singapore won a gold at SEA Games in Kuala Lumpur in the same event.

Singapore's other shooter in the event, Tessa Neo, 18, managed to finish in eighth. She was eliminated in the first round of the finals, after scoring 57.3.

(With inputs from IANS)

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