CWG: Manu Bhaker, Heena, Ravi strike medals (Shooting Roundup)

India's Manu Bhaker and Heena Sidhu won the gold and silver medals the women's 10m Air Pistol event respectively, while Ravi Kumar took bronze medal in the men's 10 metre air rifle event of the 21st Commonwealth Games here on Sunday.

Haryana's 16-year-old Bhaker produced a spectacular performance, setting a new CWG record with a total of 240.9 points in the final round.

Bhaker was in fine form coming into her maiden CWG appearance, having won 10m air pistol and 10m air pistol mixed event gold medals at the ISSF World Cup earlier this year in Mexico.

Experienced Sidhu registered 234 points to make it 1-2 for India at the top of the podium. It was her first medal at the CWG. She made her CWG debut in 2010 New Delhi edition.

Australia's Elena Galiabovitch took bronze with 214.9 to bring some cheer for the hosts.

During the qualifications, Bhaker topped the qualification stage with a total of 388 points. Sidhu qualified at the second spot with 379 points.

"I am very happy... it is my first Commonwealth Games and I won with a qualification record also. The gap between me and the second competitor, that was a huge margin. So it was a pleasure winning this medal for India and I am very, very happy," Bhaker said.

Ravi's bronze medal in the 10 metre air rifle event ensured that India bag its third medal on the opening day of the shooting competitions here.

Ravi shot a total of 224.1 to finish behind Australian Dane Sampson (245) and Bangladesh's Abdullah Hel Baki (244.7), who won the gold and silver, respectively at the Belmont Shooting Centre here.

He survived a shoot-off in the final to finish with a score of 244.7.

He had taken bronze in this event at last month's International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico, as well.

Deepak Kumar, the second Indian in the fray, also qualified for the finals but eventually finished sixth. Deepak registered a total of 162.3.

The Indians had started their campaign on a promising note.

They had qualified for the final by by securing the top two positions in the qualification stage.

Deepak created a Commonwealth Games record by shooting a total of 627.2 while Ravi secured his place in the final by totalling 626.8.

Another Indian shooter, Saniya Sheikh qualified for the final of the women's skeet event. She shot a total of 71 to finish the qualification stage in the third place.

But it was a disappointing outing for her compatriot Maheshwari Chauhan, who finished eighth after shooting a total of 68.

--IANS

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