Subhash Kumar of the Army stunned the stars to clinch both the skeet titles on the inaugural day of the Indian Shotgun Open at the Dr. Karni Singh Range in Tughlakabad on Wednesday.
In a colourful setting, with music in the background and everyone sporting a light mood, not worried much about the big prizes, the 23-year-old Army man shot rounds of 24, 24 and 22 to win the title without any handicap, one point ahead of leading National shooters Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Smit Singh.
Having finished 55th with a score of 96 out of 125 in a strong field of 105 in the last National championship at the same range, Subhash Kumar, who had a handicap of 12, tied with the former World Champion in trap Manavjit Singh Sandhu on 82.
Count-back works!However, the Jammu and Kashmir lad prevailed on the count-back, by virtue of his superior second round score of 24. Manavjit said that he was happy for the young lad and the result suited the mood of the competition.
Having shot skeet long back in the National Games, Manavjit had a 15-point handicap that helped him pip former champion Rahoul Rai by one point.
Another trap shooter like Manav, Kynan Chenai shot 65 to place fourth. Smit Singh with a handicap of three, shot 69 and was placed 18th.Former National champion Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot 69 and had a handicap of one point, that placed him 26th.
The top-30 were assured of attractive prizes which would be presented on the final day along with trap and double trap.
A number of shooters from different events put their reputation aside to shoot the skeet event, though it was a chastening experience for many including the president of the National Rifle Association of India, Raninder Singh, who shot 53 to be placed 43rd in a field of 69.
He placed 33rd, thanks to a handicap of 17 in the nett score.
Asian Games double trap champion Ronjan Sodhi kept himself busy with the organisational aspects of the competition and skipped the skeet event, despite having registered his entry.
The range was nicely decked up in a brilliant fashion, and the spectators had a lot to cheer as current and former shooters rubbed shoulders in a friendly ambience.
The results (top three):
Skeet:
Men (gross): 1. Subhash Kumar 70; 2. Mairaj Ahmad Khan 69; 3. Smit Singh 69; 4. Amrinder Cheema 68; 5. Manavjit Singh Sandhu 67; 6. Kynan Chenai 65.
Women: 1. Shreiya Chowdhary 48; 2. Sania Khan 44; 3. Jasmeen Dhadli 40.
Men (nett): 1. Subhash 82; 2. Manavjit 82; 3. Rahoul Rai 81; 4. Kynan 80; 5. Zaid Ali Khan 79; 6. Prabhir Mann 78; 7. Mohd. Khalid Khan 77; 8. Darius Chenai 76; 9. Namanveer Brar 76; 10. Gurvinder Singh Gill 75.
