Narang shoots bronze, Bindra disappoints

A podium finish in the ongoing Beijing World Cup enabled India’s rifle shooter Gagan Narang...

A podium finish in the ongoing Beijing World Cup enabled India’s rifle shooter Gagan Narang to gauge his preparation for the Olympics. A score of 597 in the preliminary round of the air rifle event indicated he hasn’t lost his silken touch in the event.

Of late, Gagan was focusing more on the prone events (three position and 50m prone), and hardly devoted any time to air weapon. But a bronze medal in a quality field reflects his mental preparedness for the competition. “I think I am on the right track,” Gagan said.

This is the second time Gagan has excelled in the World Cup. In 2006, he won gold in the Guangzhou edition. In Beijing, Gagan scored 99 in the opening three cards, and despite being tense, he managed to hold his nerves to shoot a perfect 100 in the last three and book a passage for the final. The field in the finals was strong with Hungary’s Sidi Peter leading with a score of 599/600.

Gagan was also tense in the finals. He started with a shot of 9.8, but eventually scored 103.3 to finish third (597+103.3). China’s 2004 Olympics champion Zhu Qinan won the gold with a score of 700.8 (597+103.8). USA’s Matt Emmons won silver 700.4 (599+101.7). The Indian shooter expressed satisfaction over his performance. “I am still good in air weapon. Now I can push harder to get ready for the big competition,” he said. In the same event, rifle shooter Abhinav Bindra and PT Ragunath shot 595 and 594 respectively, and failed to reach the finals.

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