It had to be today: Rathore

It was a story of nerves and determination for the gold winner

The targets were wavering at Melbourne8217;s Lilydale Ranges, the windy conditions adding to the woes of the shooters. But Lt Col Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore was not at all wavering in his mind about his target: gold. 8216;8216;My patience paid off,8217;8217; said the Athens Olympics silver medallist, talking from Melbourne.

8216;8216;It was a great relief. I was under tremendous pressure and I needed this one gold because of expectations back home. The sport demands great concentration and am happy I was able to give my best shot,8217;8217; he said.

Indeed, there was a growing expectation. People were losing patience, particularly after Rathore failed to do anything worthy of his reputation after Athens.

But he would always say that he knows how to plan his schedules 8212; shooting and other personal interests 8212; and put them to work. His request to his friends and to those in sport fraternity was to give him some time before he picked up the thread.

There was another reason why he was not able to perform at the same level after Athens. He had changed his gun midway last year and he had to get himself 8216;8216;gun-fit8217;8217; before he could go full blast. But all the while, he was as disciplined 8212; he would be one of the firsts to hit the Dr Karni Singh Range for practice 8212; as he had been before Athens.

8216;8216;I don8217;t normally like to overdo things,8217;8217; he would say, adding, 8216;8216;but I certainly have my priorities clear and I work out my schedules accordingly.8217;8217;

And that has paid off. 8216;8216;I was really upset when I missed several shots in the qualifying rounds and in the finals with Byron and Mark breathing down my neck. But I kept saying to myself that I will have to do it here and today.8217;8217;

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Rathore was lagging behind England8217;s Steven Walton 141 and William Chetcuti 139 of Malta in the qualifying rounds and trailing Byron Swanton 46 and Russell Mark 44 in the finals, the Athens silver medallist kept his nerve intact to scoop the gold in double trap.

But, as he admitted, he knew he could always come back if he held his nerve in the finals. Fortunately for him, both Walton and Chetcuti had poor rounds in the finals and Rathore 13744 = 181 upstaged Walton by a solitary point to win the gold.

Rathore agreed he was immensely satisfied with the defence of his title because the field was tough and there were three Olympic medallists, including himself, at Melbourne today.