If there is one lesson Robert Watson will take away from the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore, it's to learn how to "push yourself" and focus even harder after making a mistake.

The Richmond Gymnastics Society member who fell off the pommel horse in his first routine of the men's all around final, managed to regroup with a solid effort on rings, floor, parallel bars, high bar and vault, but it wasn't enough to lift him any higher than 17th in the field of 18 finalists.

"After falling in my first routine, I thought I managed to pull it back together even though I was very shaky at the start," said Watson. "You really have to learn how to put it aside even when you are really nervous and just focus on your routine."

Yuya Kamoto of Japan, who led the field in qualifying, won the gold with a score of 86.350 points. Oleg Stepko of the Ukraine took the silver with 85.350 and Xiaodong Zhu of China was third at 85.00.

Watson, who placed 11th in the qualification round to earn his spot in the final, scored his best results on vault, floor and parallel bars.

"Overall, it's been a great experience," said Watson, one of Canada's top junior gymnasts who has been training with the senior team for over a year.

"There's nothing like competing against the best in the world."

Earlier, Watson qualified for the finals with a solid performance on all six apparatus.

"I wanted to hit six-for-six on my routines and I pulled it off.

Canadian coach Ferenc Szabo, who also oversees the boys program in Richmond, said Watson had achieved the main goal just by qualifying for the all around final.

"He's done a fabulous job," said Szabo. "His landings were really clean."