Making his debut at the 2007 SEA Games in Thailand as a relative unknown compared to more seasoned teammates, shooter Joanathan Koh wanted to shine in his own way. He not only achieved his goal but far exceeded all expectations.

The teenager caused a stir when he clinched two gold medals - the team and individual titles in the 10m air rifle competition. For the teams event, he combined with Ong Jun Hong and Zhang Jin to win. Significantly, it was a victory that ended Singapore's 34-year wait for a gold medal in the pistol and rifle events. He also outdid his more experienced team-mates in the individual events.

Earlier in the year, he showed his immense potential by winning the Singapore Open. The year before in 2006, he won two golds at the South-east Asia Shooting Championships and earned a creditable fifth place in the team event of the Asian Games in Doha.

All these were signs that he had made the right decision to pick up the air rifle as a co-curricular activity when he was a Secondary One student in 2003. Then came the breakthrough at the 2007 SEA Games and the rest is history for Singapore's latest Sportsboy of the Year.

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