Date:07/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/07/stories/2006090702041900.htm

Sport - Shooting

No stopping Rathore

Special Correspondent

Rajyavardhan Rathore. — FILE PHOTO: P.V. Sivakumar

NEW DELHI: Olympic silver medallist Lt. Col. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore shot a double gold in the Asian clay shooting championship in Singapore on Wednesday.

Rathore won the individual gold in double trap with a 190 out of 200 and helped the team claim the gold as well. Incidentally, it was the fifth successive individual gold for Rathore in the championship.

Rathore shot 46, 47 and 49 in the preliminary phase for a 142 and was tied with Rashid Al-Athba of Qatar. However, Rathore eventually bagged the gold with a four-point margin over Saif Alshamsy of the UAE, as he shot a spectacular 48 in the final.

New Asian record

"I am happy with my fifth gold, and am proud of my team as we have shot a new Asian record. I was improving with every round. When I shot a 46 in the first round, I knew why I was missing, and was able to correct myself as the competition progressed. That was the beauty of it,'' said Rathore, as he spoke to The Hindu.

It was the second best score for Rathore following the 191 he had shot on way to his maiden gold in the Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002.

Ronjan Sodhi was quite impressive as he came up with a 185 out of 200 and missed the bronze in the shoot-off with Al-Athba, 1-2.

Ronjan had a series of 46, 46 and 46 in the qualifying phase and followed that with a 47, the second best score in the final.

Vikram Bhatnagar failed to make the final by one point following a below par fare in the third series. He had rounds of 46, 46 and 44 for a 136.

The Indian team beat Chinese Taipei by seven points for the gold.

The Indian squad took its tally to four gold, one silver and one bronze medal in the championship.

The results: Double trap: 1. Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore 190 (142); 2. Saif Alshamsy (UAE) 186 (141); 3. Rashid Al-Athba (Qat) 185 (142) 2; 4. Ronjan Sodhi 185 (138) 1; 10. Vikram Bhatnagar 136; 15. Vikram Chopra 132.

Team: 1. India 416, 2. Chinese Taipei 409, 3. UAE 406.