Guwahati :India grabbed all the five gold medals on offer but ace marksman Gagan Narang had to be content with a silver in men’s individual 50m rifle prone event on the second day of the shooting competitions in the 12th South Asian Games here today.
‘Gold finger’ Samresh Jung rolled over the years as he won the gold in men’s individual 25m center fire pistol event as the Indians completely dominated the shooting range for the second day running at the Kahilipara Shooting Range here.
Narang, who won a bronze in 10m air rifle in 2012 Olympics, was leading till the fifth series but could not sustain it till the end.
Compatriot Chain Singh caught Narang up in the sixth series before running away with the gold. Chain Singh shot a total of 184.1, while Narang had 183.1. Umar Siddique of Pakistan took the bronze.
The Indian team comprising Chain Singh, Narang and Surendra Singh Rathod won the gold in 50m rifle prone event with a total score of 1871.5. Pakistan and Sri Lanka took the silver and bronze.
In men’s 25m center fire pistol, Jung, who last won an individual medal in a top event in the 2010 Commonwealth Games, beat the likes of Pemba Tamang and Vijay Kumar to win the gold. Jung, who was best known for his stupendous five gold winning performance in 2006, shot a total of 580 points to clinch the gold in a tough field.
Tamang took the bronze with a total shot of 579 points while Vijay, who won a silver in 25m rapid fire pistol event in the London Olympics, got the bronze after a shoot off as three marksmen ended at 577 points.
45-year-old Jung, who was part of the Indian bronze winning team in 10m air rifle in 2014 Asian Games in Guangzhou, said that he would continue his shooting career and look ahead at the Commonwealth, Asian and Olympic Games.
“I could not qualify for the Rio Olympics and there are no more qualification events now. I will look ahead for the next Olympics. There is Asian Games and Commonwealth Games also,” he told PTI after winning the gold.
“Today, I did well and won the gold. I felt good. The score was also good. I will continue shooting,” he added.
Indians swept the individual event of the women’s 50m rifle prone event while also winning the team gold.
Kuheli Ganguly bagged the gold with a total score of 619.9, while Lajja Gauswami and Anuja Jung grabbed the silver and bronze with 608.2 and 607.5 points, respectively.
The trio of Ganguly, Gauswami and Jung then took the gold in the team event, leaving the silver and bronze for Pakistan and Sri Lanka, respectively.
PTI