Date:22/12/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/12/22/stories/2006122207562000.htm

Sport - Shooting

Medal winners feted

HYDERABAD: Medal winners at the National shotgun shooting championships, held at Delhi from December 14 to 18, were felicitated by the Rifle Association of Andhra Pradesh (RAAP) here on Thursday.

The state's medal haul consisted of two gold medals in team events, a silver and two bronze medals in individual competitions.

Asher Noria claimed the junior men's trap silver, while the bronzes went to Amit Sanghi and Reshmi Rathod in the men's and women's skeet events respectively.

Incidentally, Asher's pet event is the double trap, in which he finished fourth, while for Reshmi it was a creditable performance, in that she finished third in her very first Nationals.

One team gold was claimed by the men in the skeet, the squad comprising Sanghi, Gusti Noria and Hoshang Noria. The other gold was clinched by the men's junior trio of Abhinav Reddy, Shreyan Kapoor and Youhan Noria.

All shooters from the state posted tallies higher than the MQS, minimum qualifying score, making them eligible to compete in the next Nationals.

Rohinton J. Noria, a RAAP committee member, thanked the Sports Authority of Andhra Pradesh (SAAP) and the state's home department for supporting the sport.

He was hopeful that shooters from the state would claim about eight medals in the forthcoming National Games in Assam.

M.S. Raj Thakur, Chairman, SAAP, gave gifts to the medal winners, while L. Venkatram Reddy, Secretary, A.P. Olympic Association, lauded the efforts of the shooters. — Special Correspondent