Pahang: Shooter Cheah Zen Hong was in a class of his own after clinching his fifth gold medal at the 2026 Selangor Malaysia Games (SUKMA), winning the men's individual 10-metre (m) air pistol event at the National Shooting Range here today.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the achievement was made even sweeter as the 20-year-old broke his own SUKMA record of 231.5 points by firing 24 shots to amass 236.8 points, securing the gold for the Pahang contingent. His compatriot Ahmad Danial Hakim took silver with 234.6 points, while Sarawak's Lai Muhd Danial won bronze with 213.3 points.

In the final, Zen Hong, who initially trailed, staged a comeback to overtake Ahmad Danial with his final two shots, securing his fifth gold of the Games. The victory also saw Zen Hong maintain his dominance in the event, having previously won the 10m air pistol gold at SUKMA Sarawak 2024 and SUKMA MSN 2022.

For the record, Zen Hong had earlier won gold in the individual and team 50m free pistol events on Monday and the individual 25m rapid fire event yesterday, before also winning the men's 10m air pistol team event this morning.

Commenting on his final performance, the 20-year-old noted that staying calm and focusing on the fundamentals, as emphasised by his coach, were key to his successful comeback after falling behind in the final. "Okay, honestly, I was nervous at the beginning. But I just reminded myself of what my coach always says: just focus and focus on the fundamentals. I am grateful that I was able to do that until the end of the final," he said.

He also hopes to repeat the seven-gold haul he achieved at SUKMA Sarawak, but does not want to turn the target into pressure.