Gagan Narang strikes fourth gold

Gagan Narang continued his gold hunt and won one more in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions individual event. With this gold, he became the first male athlete from India to win four gold medals in the Delhi Games.

Meanwhile, emulating Narang and Omkar Singh, Vijay Kumar completed his hat-trick of gold medals by winning the men’s 25m centrefire pistol pairs event with Harpreet Singh. In the women’s 10m air rifle pairs event, India had to be content with a bronze.

At the Karni Singh Shooting Range here on Saturday, Gagan scored 1,166 points to better his own record of 1,163, which was created in the Melbourne Games four years ago. Gagan got a tough fight from Scotland’s Jonathan Hammod, who fell short of just two points and had to settle with a silver. England’s young shooter James Huckle also continued his good form and
won the bronze with a score of 1,157.

Vijay Kumar (586) and Harpreet Singh (573) displayed their prowess by scoring 1,159 points to leave their opponents from New Zealand, Greg Yelavich and Alan Earle behind by 19 points. Singapore’s Bin Gai and Meng Lip Poh won the bronze with 1,139 points.

“It was a tough competition and things were difficult, but I am happy that we handled the pressure well and won the gold. It is my first gold in the Commonwealth Games, so I am happier,” said Harpreet after winning the medal.

In the women’s 10m air rifle pairs event, cough and cold stopped Kavitha Yadav and Suma Shirur from winning the gold, as the pair won bronze after scoring 785 points. “I wasn’t feeling well as I am having cold. Because of that I couldn’t focus well,” said Kavitha. Malaysia’s Suryani Mohamed and Ayuni Halim won the gold with 793 points, while Singapore’s Jasmine Ser Xiang and Huan Cheng won the silver (790).

Indian women shooters once again failed to win any medal at the shotgun range, as Shreyashi Singh and Seema Tomar finished sixth and ninth in the singles trap event. England’s Anita North won gold, while Scotland’s Shona Marshall and Namibia’s Gaby Ahrens won the silver and bronze respectively.