ANISH IS INDIA’S YOUNGEST GOLD MEDALLIST
15 YEAR OLD SHOOTER TAKES TOP SPOT IN 25M RAPID FIRE PISTOL
GOLD COAST: As he got ready for the fourth series of five shots in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol final, India’s 15-year-old Anish Bhanwala was distracted by the camera that was moving on a rail in front of the shooting stations, and lost focus. The result was he managed to hit only one target and this came after he had scored three in the previous round.
Going into the final round, Anish’s lead was further trimmed to one hit and he needed another perfect five to seal gold.
In rapid fire pistol, shooters take turns to fire at five targets within a specified time period. The shooter with maximum hits is declared the winner.
Anish, who qualified in first position with a score of 580 and 22 inner 10s, started with a good lead as he had shot perfect five in each of the first two series. But that blip, in which he scored just one, threatened to ruin his perfect day as he went into the final series of five shots with his lead down to just one point after local hope Sergei Evglevski had shot 5, 4, and 4 in his last three attempts.
RISING TO OCCASION
Anish, who is the world junior champion in 25m standard pistol, responded with a perfect five hits to extend his lead to six hits even before Evglevsi could take his final five shots.
The Aussie managed four hits and Anish emerged 30-28 winner to become India’s youngest Commonwealth Games gold medallist, breaking the record set by 16-year-old Manu Bhaker a few days ago.
England’s Sam Gowin survived two shoot-offs, eliminating India’s Neeraj Kumar, who had qualified in second position, and reigning champion Australian David Chapaman to make the top three.
Having claimed the biggest medal of his life, Anish was ecstatic but also worried about his Class X exams after reaching India on Sunday. “I have to write my exams in Hindi, Social Science and Maths. I will think of my next competition, the World Cup in South Korea, after that,” said Anish.
TEJASWINI ON TOP
It was a great day for India and Tejaswini Sawant at the Belmount Shooting Complex in Brisbane as the 35-year-old from Kolhapur won gold again in CWG after 12 years. Anjum Godugil won silver, completing another 1-2 in 50m three-position.
Tejaswini, who had won gold in 10m air rifle and 10m air rifle pairs events in 2006 at Melbourne, found the weather to her liking as she bagged the top spot with a Games record total to add to the silver in 50m prone on Thursday. This took her medals haul from CWG to seven as she had won two silver and bronze in the 2010 edition in New Delhi.
Tejaswini had qualified in third position, with 582 and 31 perfect 10s, behind Anjum (589) and Singapore’s 18-year-old Martina Lindsay Veloso (584).
In the final, Tejaswini was more consistent of the two and shot in the fifties regularly as she bagged gold.
She shot 10.1, 10.0,10.0, 10.0 and
10.5 in her last five shots for a total of 457.9, which is a Games record, while Anjum could manage 10.2, 9.7, 10.2, 10.4 and 9.1 for a total of 455.7.
Veloso, winner in 10m air rifle and 10m air rifle prone, slipped to fourth position as Scotland’s Seonaid McIntosh took bronze. The day that started with a bang for India, ended in disappointment as Shreyasi Singh finished fifth in the women’s trap final. Shreyasi, who won the double trap gold a couple of days ago, had qualified in fourth position. Compatriot Seema Tomar was placed 11th in the qualifying round.