JOIN USApurvi leads shooters' charge
Young Rajasthan girl Apurvi Chandela got India their second gold from the shooting range, winning the 10M air rifle event at the Commonwealth Games here on Saturday even as compatriot Ayonika Paul boosted the medal tally with a silver from the same event.
Bangalore’s Prakash Nanjappa had nailed the silver in the men’s 10M air pistol event earlier in the day and India now have two gold and two silver medals from the range.
The 21-year-old Apurvi led from the beginning, shattering the Games Record with a score of 206.7 while Ayonika finished second with a score of 204.9. It was only fitting that the Jaipur girl, who started shooting only six years back after watching Abhinav Bindra win the gold in the Beijing Olympics, won in the star shooter’s pet event. Chandela, whose father has built her a shooting range at home, trains under her uncle Hem Singh.
She was consistency personified throughout the event as she topped the qualifying rounds with a score of 415.6. Ayonika qualified in fourth position. In the final, Chandela consistently scored between 10.2 to 10.7, always maintaining at least 1.5 points difference from her nearest rival.
Ayonika was not in medal contention till the first 10 shots but she was brilliant in the back 10 as she fired 10.5 to 10.7 to improve her position.
Earlier, Prakash slipped midway through the final when gold seemed to be there for the taking. He was leading at the end of the second series of the elimination stage but he shot a disappointing 7.7 in the sixth shot to hand the lead to eventual winner Daniel Repacholi of Australia.
The 38-year-old tried his best to catch up with the Australian but failed to do so in the end. Repacholi won the gold with a total of 199.5 while Prakash scored 198.2. England’s 60-year-old Michel Gault got the bronze. It was Gault’s 18th CWG medal.
Before the last round, Repacholi had taken a lead of 1.4 points but he could only come up with a 9.3 in the penultimate shot and Prakash could have narrowed down the gap. The Indian could not do that as he also shot a 9.3. Prakash was the first to fire the last shot and he came up with a 10.5, putting pressure on his Australian opponent.
But Repacholi fired a 10.4 to run away with the gold. The other Indian in the fray, Om Prakash had failed to qualify for the final round. On Friday, India had won a gold in men’s 10M air fifle through Bindra while Malaika Goel had claimed the silver in the women’s 10M air pistol.