How Good Is Edwin Gouw

Watch out for Gouw in the Men’s Air Rifle, an hour-and-three-quarter-long, 60-shot competition. 

Edwin’s a very determined young man who’s always striving for perfection;
Image: Simon Carroll, Living Images Photography.

What's wrong with Australia’s young people? Where are all the slackers and delinquents? All our country’s kids ever seem to do these days is aspire to be parliamentarians, like 20-year-old MP Wyatt Roy, or want to sail around the world, like 16-year-old Jessica Watson, or shoot at the 2010 Commonwealth Games, like 15-year-old Edwin Gouw.

EDWIN WHO?

Jakarta-born and Singapore-based Gouw turned 15 in May, making him our youngest representative at the Delhi Games, pipping even pole-vaulting youngster Liz Parnov. Watch out for Gouw in the Men’s Air Rifle, an hour-and-three-quarter-long, 60-shot competition. Following a qualification round, the top eight shooters progress to the final round, consisting of ten shots. The pressure’s on from here: competitors go shot-for-shot, with scores called after each shot. Scoring’s based on how close to the centre a shot lands – 10.0 isn’t as good as a 10.9, and so on. Qualification and final scores are added together to calculate the winner ... What’s much easier to explain is that Gouw is very young and very, very good.

WHAT’S HIS STORY?

The Gouws moved from Australia to Singapore a decade ago when Edwin’s Indonesian-born parents relocated for business purposes. Gouw has only been shooting for three years, kicking off his career after his primary school leaving examination. Singapore law says shooters are only permitted to compete in the Air Rifle category at 12 years or older, and only in 50m Prone and 3P when they reach the ripe old age of 14. Reports Carrie Quigley, Australia’s development rifle coach: “When the Gouws realised he wouldn’t be able to compete for Singapore, they contacted Australian International Shooting and he entered our local competitions. Edwin travelled to Australia for all the qualification competitions for the Commonwealth Games.”

Gouw is mentored in Singapore by local club coach Ding Xiyin, whose progress with the young gun has been followed closely by Australia’s national rifle head coach, Petr Kurka. The story of Gouw’s rapid rise is exactly what these controversy-stricken Games needs to attract the “right” kind of media attention, but the man least surprised by the talented youngster’s achievements is Kurka. “The Asian countries tend to have a lot of young shooters,” Kurka says. “So every now and then some young, talented shooter does surprise people with his or her high performance. The important thing for Edwin will be not to get over-satisfied with his good results he has now. He needs to keep working on his talent so he can reach the really top level of world-class shooters.”