It was a performance that highlighted the brilliance of Sanjeev Rajput, who for long has been in the shadow of more illustrious team-mates. The 37-year-old Naval officer on Saturday, being in a zone of his own, helped himself to a gold medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3-positions in Brisbane.
The day’s card had only two events and India went medal-less in men’s trap as both Kynan Chenai (117) and Manavjit Sandhu (115) failed to make the final.
That he was the man to beat was evident at the qualification stage itself, as Rajput scaled the Games record with an incredible total of 1186 — 391 in kneeling, 399 in prone and 390 in standing. Team-mate Chain Singh was not far behind, getting to the second position with a 1166 (389, 398, 378).
Rajput, who trailed Grzegorz Sych (Canada) after the kneeling and prone stage in the final, came good in the standing elimination to finish on top with 454.6 points — another Games record. Chain with 419.1 points finished fifth
This is Rajput’s first gold medal in three appearances at the Games, his earlier best being the silver at Glasgow 2014.
The result: Men: 50m rifle 3-positions: 1. Sanjeev Rajput, 1186, 454.6, 2. Grzegorz Sych (Can), 1145, 448.4, 3. Dean Bale (Eng), 1163, 441.2; 5. Chain Singh 1166, 419.1 .
