Mittal silences big guns

Shooting National Shotgun Championship

Haryana youngster captures double trap gold.

Haryana's Ajay Mittal triumphed in a star-studded field, winning the men's double trap event at the 55th National Shooting championship at the 55th National shotgun championship at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range on Wednesday.

In a field packed with stalwarts like Olympics silver medallist Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Ronjan Sodhi, Ajay made a solid start in the final and though he wavered a bit towards the end, he did well to take the gold with a total of 185 (138+47) on a windy day.

Delhi's Sangram Dahiya shot 183 (137+46) to win the silver while Rathore won the bronze with a score of 182 (137+45). Sodhi finished fourth with 181 (138+43).

Ajay was tied with his younger brother Ankur and Sodhi after the qualification round. Ankur, though, can draw solace from his gold medal win in the junior event.

Ajay, 24, said he did not think about his famed opponents and focused on the finals.

“I am very happy to win the title. I began good but because of wind I went down a bit towards the end. But I managed to maintain my score,” said the MBA student. Rathore, whose recent run of form has raised hopes of his making to the London Olympics despite missing a quota place at the Asian Championships in Doha last month, credited the youngsters for their performance.

“The first thing Ronjan and I said to each other after the competition is that we have a bunch of youngsters doing so well. It is good to see so many youngsters who can do well even when we will be not around. It will inspire a lot of youngsters,” he said.

On his own performance, Rathore said: “I was fighting till the end. I looked at the scoreboard and gave my best. It is good to come up with such performance as you are not in good form every day.”

Rathore’s chances of an Olympic berth will also depend on his performances in the forthcoming trials, with the NRAI in a position to exchange one of the 11 quota places for the Athens Olympic silver medallist. 

India's shotgun coach Marcello Dradi was delighted to see the youngsters perform. “I have never seen such a strong competition. It is good for India.”

Results: Double trap -- Men: Ajay Mittal 185 (138+47) 1; Sangram Dahiya 183 (137+46) 2; Rajyavardhan Rathore 182 (137+45).
Women: Shreyasi Singh 92, 1; Seema Tomar 80, 2; Varsha Tomar 78, 3.