Sunday, Mar 10, 2002
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Shooting
Maj. R.V.S. Rathore, who won the double trap title in the National shooting championship at Meerut on Saturday. - Photo: M. Lakshman
MEERUT, MARCH 9. Fortunes fluctuated, but the steadiest was deservedly rewarded. Defending champion R.V.S. Rathore overcame a four-point deficit going into the final round to retain the National double trap title after a tie-breaker shoot for the gold medal. In a closely-fought final on Saturday, Maj. Rathore recovered from a sedate start and asserted his hold over the toughest shotgun discipline. Rathore and Gaurav Sondhi shot 167 each and in the tie-shoot Rathore edged past Sondhi 8-7. The title could have gone out of Rathore's sights as Morad Ali Khan of Delhi and Sondhi, representing Uttar Pradesh, were ahead of Rathore after firing 150 shots each. Morad was in excellent form as he aggregated 128, while Sondhi had 126. Rathore was on 124. ``I just wanted to shoot like a professional and not like a novice,'' Rathore said about the manner in which he went into the title round in the National championship at the Meerut District Rifle Association Range here. ``The machines were a bit slow and it affected the overall performance of all the shooters. It took us time to get used to the machines, which often delayed the bird,'' Rathore said. The focus was on Morad, Rathore and Sondhi. Morad, making a comeback after a three-year gap, was the best example of what pressure does to a sportsman. On the fifth station, Morad killed a `bird' and then aimed at the next. His gun failed to fire and Morad called the referee to show that his weapon had got locked. As it turned out, Morad had loaded his gun with just one cartridge. He lost his cool then on and returned with 37 for a total of 165, just enough to fetch him bronze medal. Rathore, meanwhile, went about the task with confidence and made a 43 in the final round. For Sondhi, the bronze winner at the Bikaner Nationals last year, his two-point lead came in handy at the end which helped him tie with Rathore. In the tie-shoot, both Rathore and Sondhi missed the second `bird' in the first shot before the two went about killing six in a series. Sondhi missed both in his fourth attempt and Rathore lapped up the opportunity gladly. Rathore's good show also helped the Army win the team championship. Rathore, Dil Bahadur Thapa and Hem Raj aggregated 326 out of 450 for a 22-point lead over Delhi. Uttar Pradesh, with 304, settled for the bronze medal. The results: Double trap: Men: 1. R.V.S. Rathore (Army) (124+43) 167; 2. Gaurav Sondhi (UP) (126+41) 167; 3. Morad Ali Khan (Del) (128+37) 165; 4. Hem Raj (Army) (117+44) 161; 5. Mansher Singh (Del) (116+44) 160; 6. Ronjan Sodhi (Pun) (108+47) 155; 7. Mohd. Saif Sheikh (UP) 97; 8. Krishan Kumar (Del) 97; 9. Vikram Bhatnagar (Del) 97; 10. Ashok Mittal (Har) 96. Team championship: 1. Army (R.V.S. Rathore, Dil Bahadur Thapa, Hem Raj) 326 out of 450; 2. Delhi (Mansher Singh, Azam Khan, Vikram Bhatnagar) 305; 3. Uttar Pradesh (Gaurav Sondhi, G.R. Khan, Shyam Singh Yadav) 304. Junior men: 1. Asaf Ali (UP) 93 out of 150; 2. Alok Singh (IA) 81; 3. Najam A. Khan (UP) 77.
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