KUALA LUMPUR: Pistol specialist Cheah Zen Hong is only 16, but he is not afraid to aim for the stars.
The Pahang rising star hopes to be better than his idol Johnathan Wong, the current national No 1 and two-time Sea Games champion, one day.
Zen Hong made this declaration after capping a fine Malaysia Games debut with a men's 10m air pistol double at the National Shooting Range in Subang today.
In the individual final, Zen Hong proved he was in a class of his own by sealing a wire-to-wire victory with 231.7 points, beating second-placed Al-Azim Zakaria of Kedah (225.5).
Zen Hong had earlier qualified for the eight-man final in top spot by chalking 571 points, seven ahead of his teammate Wan Muhd Syafiq Wan Mustaza (564).
Together with Adib Abu Hassan Ashairi, who garnered 557 points for fourth place, the trio captured the team event with ease, winning by a whopping 41-point margin from Hakimi Zulkifli, Abdul Haiqal Abdul Aziz and Ryan Amsyar Mohd Rozaimi of Federal Territories (1,651).
The two additional titles took Zen Hong's tally to three after his 50m air pistol team gold on Sunday.
He narrowly missed out on the individual gold after finishing second behind Hakimi.
"I may have missed out on a quadruple, but I am still very pleased with my three titles," said Zen Hong, a Form Four student of SMK Sultan Abu Bakar in Kuantan.
"With three gold and one silver, it is not too bad of an effort in my first Games outing. I have accomplished my target of shining in the competition, one of the biggest competitions in the country.
"What motivated me to do well? I want to brighten my chances of making the national team. I want to compete alongside my idol Johnathan.
"It is only by becoming a national shooter that I would get to feature in multi-sport Games and international competitions. I'm working hard towards that goal.
"I think time is on my side. I'm only 16. Hopefully, I will earn a place in the national team by 2024 and compete in my first Sea Games in 2025.
"I hope not to only follow in Johnathan's footsteps but do even better than him."
In March, Zen Hong did better than his senior peers to win a silver behind Johnathan in the 10m air pistol at the Selangor Shooting Championships.
RESULTS
Men's 10m air pistol: 1 Cheah Zen Hong (Pah) 231.7pts, 2 Al-Azim Zakaria (Ked) 225.5, 3 Abdul Haiqal Abdul Aziz 204.1;
Team: 1 Pahang 1,692, 2 FT 1,651, 3 Negri Sembilan 1,646.
Women's 50m rifle three-position: 1 Alia Husna Budruddin (NS) 443.5, 2 Nur Syafani Nabilah Abdul Razak (Prk) 441.9, 3 Gan Chen Jie (NS) 428.8;
Team: 1 Negri Sembilan 1,689 (NR), 2 Perak 1,679, 3 Sarawak 1,659.