Young guns on target

IT might not have a future at Commonwealth Games level but the outlook for Australian shooting appears to be bright enough as a fresh-faced team readies for next month’s event.

Shooting has been controversially dropped from the program for Birmingham 2022 due to the lack of a suitable venue in the English Midlands.

Shooting Australia hopes that decision will be reversed but if it’s not, this year’s event at the Belmont Shooting Complex in Brisbane could mark the end of an era.

For the sport itself in Australia, it should also mark the start of a new one.

The torch has been passed from household names Michael Diamond, Adam Vella and Russell Mark to a new generation, many of whom have been picked with an eye on the Tokyo Olympics in 2020.

Seven members of the 28strong squad are under the age of 20, with Tori Rossiter, 15, likely to be one of the youngest competitors next month.

Australia’s shooters performed above expectation in Glasgow in 2014, winning six of our 49 gold medals.