The Hindu : Sport / Shooting : Rathore wins another gold

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Jul 23, 2004

Sport

Sport - Shooting

Rathore wins another gold

NEW DELHI, JULY 22. Major Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore provided a final clue to his fighting form as he clinched the double trap gold in a competitive field in the Masters Cup in the Czech Republic on Tuesday, according to information received here.

The 34-year-old Rathore came up with a 187 out of 200 in beating a strong gathering of shooters from Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland, Kuwait and the U.A.E. apart from the Czech Republic.

Going into the final, Rathore was one point behind Marco Innocenti of Italy, 140 to 141, but came up with a 47 out of 50 in the final to win the gold with a one-point margin over Mashfi Al-Mutairi of Kuwait. The Italian had to be content with the bronze with a 184. Multiple World Cup winner Ahmed Al-Maktoum of the U.A.E. finished fourth with a 181. Two other Italians Stefano Ales and the world-record holder Daniele di Spigno took the fifth and sixth spots with 175 and 172 respectively.

The World Championship bronze medallist, who had recently added yet another Asian clay pigeon gold to his rich collection in Bangkok, Rathore had stumbled to an indifferent start with a 42 out of 50 in the first round. However, he emphasised his class with a perfect 50 in the second round to consolidate his position and fired a 48 in the third round to put himself in line for the gold. The last time Rathore had shot a perfect 50 was in the World Championship in Lahti, Finland, in 2002, after which he has been operating in a different league.

With the Union government providing him adequate resources, Rathore has been training in Europe with stalwarts, Sydney Olympics silver medallist Russell Mark of Australia and Luca Marini of Italy.

Trap shooter Mansher Singh had also bagged a gold earlier in the Masters Cup with a 144 out of 150. It was another solid statement from the 38-year-old Mansher as he shot a perfect 25 in the final after rounds of 24, 24, 22, 24 and 25 in the preliminary phase. He won the gold with a four-point margin over David Kostelecky of the Czech Republic, who had to win a tie-shoot 16-15 against two others for the silver. Milos Hala of the host nation took the bronze, as he pipped Petri Nummela of Finland in the tie-shoot.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Sport