In most non-cricketing sports in the country,the athletes are used to performing in front of empty stands. At the Commonwealth Shooting Championships in the Capital on Sunday,when the Indian team took position in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event,there were few spectators,but unusually,there were no competitors either. It was amid such circumstances that Vijay Kumar shot a score of 588 for a new Commonwealth record,while Pemba Tamang scored 564,as together they came first in the pairs event by aggregating 1152 points. And since there were no takers,no silver and bronze medals were awarded in the team event. According to the International Shooting Sport Federations rules,any event in a competition should have a minimum of six teams. In this case,however,the organisers gave their go-ahead despite only four shooters three from India,one from Gibraltar participating. Since this is a test event for the Commonwealth Games,the decision to go ahead with competition was taken by the Commonwealth Shooting Federation, said Rajiv Bhatia,National Rifle Association of India secretary. Later,the athlete from Gibraltar,Jonathan Patron,suffered a gun malfunction and couldnt participate,leaving only the Indians in the field. The third shooter,Gurpreet Singh,scored 576 and took silver in the Badge category,which is based on individual scores in the team event. The Badge medals,however,will not be counted in the final tally. India won the team gold. The three participants also bagged the Badge gold,silver and bronze based on their individual scores, Bhatia added. The controversy took some sheen away from what was a world-class performance by the Army shooter from Mhow,Vijay. The 25-year-old,who won at the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games,notched up his personal best and his score was five points better than the existing Olympic record in the same category. Asked about the lack of competition,he said: For me this gold is as important as any. You cant help if there arent enough entries. What matters is that I gave my best. National coach Sunny Thomas said that with a score like that,Vijay wouldve been in contention against the best in the world. Vijay shot a world-class score. He deserves the medal, the coach said. Meanwhile,India won two more gold medals on Day 3,with Samaresh Jung and Zakhir Khan (both 579) finishing at the top in the 10m Air Pistol pairs event with an aggregate of 1158. Englands Michael Gault and Nick Baxter won silver with a score of 1137,while Australias Christopher Roberts and Alfio Casagrande took bronze with 1127. Jung,who had won six gold medals in the 2006 Commonwealth Games,said he would look to better Sundays performance in the individual event on Monday. My personal best is 586 so I would say the score today was okay. That is not to say I am disappointed. A gold is a gold. The field might be depleted here but in shooting,youre always competing against yourself, he said. Women shooters also made their mark,with Meena Kumari clinching gold in the 50m Rifle 3 Positions,scoring 671.9. In mens double trap event,Mohd Asab missed the gold by just one point,settling for silver with a score of 139. The gold went to Englands Steven Scott,who shot 140,while Vikram Bhatnagar took the bronze.
