SEA Games: Last but not least...a gold

Singapore's decades-long streak of landing at least one SEA Games gold in wushu was in danger of being broken, going into the final minute of the final event on the final day of competition.

Valerie Wee and Vera Tan had scored 9.63 for their near-spotless routine in the women's duilian (barehand), giving them the lead in the three-team event with one pair to go.

But next up was Myanmar's Aint Mi Mi and Sandy Oo, cheered on by a delirious home crowd at the Wunna Theikdi Indoor Stadium.

It was too much to bear for the anxious Singaporean duo, who made small talk on the sidelines rather than watch their opponents' 54-second routine.

Up on the giant scoreboard, three digits were flashed - 9.53.

The hosts fell short, the streak lived on. Cue stunned silence among the locals, and delirium among Team Singapore athletes and officials.

A visibly shocked Vera and a relieved Wee were swamped in a sea of hugs and high-fives, lost for words after becoming the Republic's first athletes to win gold in Myanmar Tuesday.

"Unbelievable, amazing, torturous - that just about sums it up," said Curtin University graduate Wee, 24, flashing a mega-watt smile.

While it was the pair's first major event together, they have known each other for a while.

Five years ago, Vera signed up to be Wee's first student at the Sino Wushu Training Centre. Now 15, she still receives pep talks from her mentor, including one en route to the venue Tuesday.

"I had a bad sore throat for the last few days and nearly lost my voice," said the shy Dunman High School student.

"Valerie told me not to worry because when it's our time to perform, I'll be able to scream.

"I didn't believe her at first - but she was right."

Staying in room no. 4 in the fourth block at the Games Village, it was perhaps destined that the pair came out tops in the fourth event on the competition's fourth day.

Their 56-sec burst of passion, power and panache took months of learning, fine-tuning and perfecting.

The pressure to deliver was on after the fancied trio of Emily Sin, Zoe Mui and Fung Hui Xin had to settle for silver in the women's duilian (weapons). They were a heartbreaking 0.01 point behind champions Brunei (9.67), and consigned the Philippines to third by the same margin.

"Considering that Zoe and Hui Xin are just 16 and making their SEA Games debut, we're very happy with our showing," said 18-year-old former world champion Sin, a gold medallist in the same event at the 2011 edition.

Lee Tze Yuan's bronze in the men's taijijian Tuesday boosted Singapore's final wushu medal tally to one gold, two silvers and two bronzes. This surpassed their three-medal target, after taking one gold and two bronzes at the previous Games in Indonesia.

It also caps a memorable year for the sport.

Last month, Ho Lin Ying won the country's first individual gold medal at the World Wushu Championships since 1995. But te 14-year-old did not compete in Myanmar as her event, taijiquan (compulsory), was excluded.

Backed by experienced heads like Wee and Sin, the next crop of youngsters are expected to shine at the 2015 Games on home soil.

Said Singapore team manager Chan Keng Ngee: "Our younger athletes have shown that they can cope with the pressure and deliver when it matters.

I believe this will be the start of big things for wushu in Singapore."

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