Strong end to Indian campaign at Commonwealth shooting

India ended the Commonwealth Shooting Championships with a haul of 20 medals as Satyendra Singh and Sanjeev Rajput bagged gold and silver respectively in the mens 50 metre Rifle 3 Positions event on the concluding day of competitions here on Monday.

The Indian squad won a total of six gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals after a week of competition. This included a gold and silver each in Shotgun events while the rest were from the Rifle and Pistol disciplines.

Apart from Satyendra and Sanjeev, Chain Singh had also qualified for the eight-man final of the Rifle 3 Positions event.

Satyendra qualified in second place with a total of 1162 with a best of 394 out of 400 in the Prone position. Veteran Sanjeev Rajput qualified in third place with 1158 while Chain was fourth with the same score but with lesser inner 10s.

In the final though, Satyendra was quickest off the blocks while Sanjeev chased him close throughout the length of the 45-shot final.

Satyendra eventually prevailed, finishing with 454.2 to Sanjeev's 453.3. Chain Singh was in third place in the initial stages of the final, raising hopes of an Indian clean sweep. But he was eventually overtaken by Australian Dane Sampson, after the 12th shot. Sampson held on to secure the bronze medal.

In the Men's Trap event at the Shotgun ranges, Birendeep Sodhi was the lone Indian to qualify for the six-man final round. He shot 118 out of 125 to qualify in fifth place and eventually finished fourth.

--IANS

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