Brisbane: Heena Sidhu claimed the 10m air pistol gold, while Deepak Kumar fetched a bronze in the 10m air rifle event to give India a fine start at the Commonwealth Shooting Championships here Tuesday.
Sidhu shot a combined score of 626.2 (386+240.8) to claim the top honours. This was Sidhu’s second successive international gold after she, along with Jitu Rai, claimed the top position in the 10m air pistol mixed team event in the ISSF World Cup Finals at New Delhi earlier this month.
Among other Indians in fray, Deepak won a bronze medal in the 10m air rifle event while Gagan Narang finished fourth in the same event and Ravikumar ended fifth. Narang shot 626.2 in the qualification to create Commonwealth record.
Sidhu was strong through the day, topping qualification with a high score of 386, her best in international competition since the 387 she shot at the Asian Championships in Delhi two years ago.
In the final, Sidhu opened up a gap of over two points after the first five shot series itself over her nearest rival and led throughout, nailing the title with a perfect 10.9 in the 23rd and penultimate shot.
Elena Galiabovitch of Australia won the silver medal with a score of 238.2 to Sidhu’s 240.8 while Kristy Gillman, also from the host country, won bronze with 213.7.
In the men’s 10m air rifle, Narang, first shattered the Commonwealth record to top qualification with a score of 626.2. Ravi was second with 625, and Deepak, in fifth place and the three qualified for the eight-man final.
However, Australian teenager Alex Hoberg stole the show in the final, claiming gold with a score of 247.6 after the allotted 24 shots.
In the women’s Skeet event, Rashmmi Rathore made the six-woman final with a qualification round score of 65 out of 75. She eventually finished sixth in the finals.
Press trust of India
