Jitu shoots down gold, Mehuli misses history
SUCCESSFUL Shooters win a gold, silver and two bronze to round up good day GOLD COAST:
It was another successful day for India at the Belmont Shooting Complex at the Commonwealth Games as they won a gold, a silver and two bronze medals.
Seasoned shooter Jitu Rai claimed the gold medal in 10m air pistol, storming ahead from fourth position in qualifying round and overtaking compatriot Omprakash Mitherval, who equalled the Games Record of 584 during the qualifying round. Jitu shifted gears in the final, moved in front after the second series of five shots and built up such a lead that he did not have to look over his shoulder as Australia’s Kerry Bell charged in from the seventh spot to second. Shooting 10s consistently, Jitu maintained the upper hand to claim gold with a score of 235.1 as Bell ended with 233.5. Mitherval, who had slipped down the order, came back strongly to win the bronze, his first at the Commonwealth Games.
Rifle shooters Mehuli Ghosh and Apurvi Chandela, the gold medallist in Glasgow four year ago, bagged silver and bronze medals respectively in the women’s 10m air rifle competition. Mehuli shot 10.9 with her final shot to tie scores at 247.2 with Singapore’s Mirtina Lindsay Veloso and forced a shootout. However, in the oneshot shootout, she could manage only 9.9 as against 10.3 by her rival from Singapore. It was highclass shooting by all three shooters and there was not much separating them. Veloso shot a number of 10s in the initial rounds which helped her to take over the lead once from Apurvi, who had set a Games Record in the qualifying round. However, it was a day on which Jitu Rai could not be denied shot at glory. Jitu, silver medallist in 10m air pistol event in Glasgow, did one better to clinch gold.
The Indian shooter of Nepalese origin had finished second behind Daniel Repacholi four years back but this time did enough in the initial rounds to ensure lead even though he shot a couple of 8.4s in the final.
Jitu had put up a disappointing show in the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro where he finished outside the medal bracket after an up and down show.
He has done well after that, winning the Champion of Champions title, won medals in World Cup and other international tournaments. But Rio has always remained a sore point. However, as another Olympic Games approach, Jitu is getting ready for the medal that eluded him in Brazil.
Jitu, the 2014 Asian Games winner, had recently gone through tough times but now seems to have got his bearings back and he showed that with a superb performance on Monday. “I just concentrated on my performance, did not bother much when I had couple of bad shots in the final. I kept my focus,” said Jitu.
Jitu now wants to concentrate on upcoming World Cup events and build-up competitions for the Asian Games. Defending his title there is his next aim.