World shooting: Ankur’s silver lifts India’s gloom
NEWDELHI: For Ankur Mittal, the Karni Singh Shooting Ranges is home away from home.
The shotgun shooter is a regular here and often spends the entire day polishing his skills.
On Monday, he took advantage of home conditions to claim silver in men’s double trap at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup on Monday.
With the silver, India’s tally increased to two. On the opening day, rifle shooter Pooja Ghatkar had won bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle. In the six-shooter final, Ankur shot 74 out of a possible 80 to win silver, while Australian James Willett took gold with a total of 75. Sangram Dahiya, the other Indian in the final, finished sixth. With a score of 137/150 , Ankur finished fourth going into the final, while Sangram was third at 138 points.
The third Indian, Shapath Bharadwaj, scored 132, but couldn’t find a place in the final as Italian Alessandro Chianese was sixth at 137. It was a good opportunity for Sangram and Ankur, but the former wilted under pressure to bow out early in the final. Of the 80-shot final match, elimination started at 30.
JOY AT HOME
Ankur was delighted to win a medal in front of the home crowd. “The podium finish will be a big morale booster. Since I’ve got a big break in the season’s first international competition, it shall add to my confidence when I compete in the upcoming events,” said the 25-year-old.
On missing gold, he said, wrong judgment cost him dearly.
“The change in rules (earlier the final was of 50 shots, now it is 80), proved to be challenging.”
In the final, Ankur and Willett were tied at 57 after 60 shots.
In the next series of 10 shots, Ankur missed two points, while the Australian was steady. |At the end of 70 shots, Willett had 66 points compared to Ankur’s 64.
In the final 10 shots, Ankur was unable to catch up with his rival and settled for silver.
Double trap is one of the three events the ISSF is expected to scrap from the Olympic Games and will announce so shortly.
The men’s 50m free pistol and 50m rifle prone are the other two events on the list. Ankur was unhappy with the ISSF Policy.