Daughter of Filipino couple shines for Singapore

NANJING—World champion Martina Lindsay Veloso of Singapore has made the Philippines proud after grabbing a silver medal in the 2014 Youth Olympic Games.

Born to Filipino parents, the 14-year-old shooter narrowly lost her golden bid in the finals of the women’s 10-meter air rifle Tuesday at Fangshan Shooting Hall.

Veloso, a secondary 3 student at Singapore Sports School, was born in the island city-state  where her parents Melvin, an engineer, and Loressa migrated in the late 1990s.

Sarah Hornung of Switzerland edged Veloso for the gold with 207.8 points.

Veloso, named after tennis Hall of Famers Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport, compiled 207.2 points and finished ahead of world-class shooters Julia Budde of Germany, Najmeh Khedmati of Iran, Croatia’s Ivana Babic, China’s Pei Ruijiao and Serbia’s Milica Babic.

One of the youngest entries in these Games for athletes 14-18 years old, Veloso ruled the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany two months ago.  She also holds the Singapore national record with a perfect 400 points set last year.

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