Harpreet Singh beat experienced Vijay Kumar by one point for the gold in the 25m rapid fire pistol shootout in the National shooting championships here on Thursday.
He won 28-27 against his Army rival who had clinched a London Olympics quota place for India in the same event at the World Cup in Fort Benning, USA.
Harpreet and Vijay, partners for India at international events, were left shooting for gold after a six-player field was reduced to the two finalists on the basis of eliminator rule.
The winner grabbed four points out in five shots at target within a time frame, the runner-up managed three out of five.
The 25m rapid fire pistol rules have been tweaked by the world body, ISSF, to make the event exciting for the fans.
Six qualifiers for the final fire shots at five targets placed horizontally, with 9.7 being the cut-off point for each participant.
The rule is named ‘hit or miss' and any shot below 9.7 is called a ‘miss', shots rated 9.7 and above displayed on the electronic scoreboard are taken into consideration.
Immense pressure
The pressure on the shooter is immense, forced to continue performing at high levels with each five-shot burst till five qualifiers are eliminated. Gurpreet Singh bagged the bronze after falling behind in the seventh series.
In the shootout for gold and silver, two shots ‘missed' by Vijay proved decisive against three ‘hits'.
Harpreet had only one ‘miss' against four ‘hits' and clinched the title. “I do a lot of meditation, apart from working on physical fitness. It helps in keeping the mind steady,” said the champion.
C.K. Choudhary was the first to be eliminated, followed by Rahul Panwar, Pemba Tamang and Gurpreet in that order.
This new ‘hit and miss' rule will be in force at 2012 London Olympics.
Gurpreet, the bronze medallist from Army said: “Shooting technique is the same. You just have to keep firing as the pressure builds up to shoot well enough to avoid elimination. I enjoy the experience and realised from the noise in the stands behind me that the revised format was exciting to watch.”
Each shot score is displayed instantly on the electronic scoreboard above the participant's head.
Vijay Kumar recovered from two out of five in the first round, advancing as the joint leader after four rounds and 20 shots at target with 15 points.
Harpreet kept pace all the way. The event is organised by National Rifle Association of India and Maharashtra Rifle Association.
Final result: 25m Rapid Fire: 1. Harpreet Singh (Navy) (28 final score, 568 qualifying score); 2. Vijay Kumar (Army) (27, 577); 3. Gurpeet Singh (Army) (23, 572); 4. Pemba Tamang (Army) (19, 576); 5. Rahul Panwar (Navy) (15, 575); 6. C.K. Chowdhury (Army) (9, 580).
