Nutchaya Sutarporn of Thailand capitalised on the favourable conditions to capture the women’s skeet gold in the Asian shotgun championship at the New Moti Bagh Gun Club here on Monday.
The 25-year-old Thai won a nerve-wracking final by one point despite missing the last bird.
Sutarporn pipped compatriot Chalalai Na Sakul, the 16-year-old prodigy competing in only her second international competition, and Afrah Mohammad of Kuwait, the only woman to shoot a perfect round of 25 on the day.
In fact, the 22-year-old Afrah beat the bespectacled Sakul, 6-5 in the shoot-off for the silver, after the two had tied at 87.
There was a lot of confusion before the final about the individual scores, and Saniya Sheikh was credited with a score of 64 instead of 65. With none knowing how to correct the scores and the order of shooting, the organisers were forced to switch off the electronic scoreboard.
The spectators, including the chief guest former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, had no clue about the proceedings.
Except for missing three of the six birds at the tricky station four, Saniya shot very well to total 21, the best score in the final, along with Afrah and another Kuwaiti, Eman Al Shamima. Saniya had shot 22, 21 and 22 in the qualification earlier.
However, the real heroine of the day was 27-year-old Simona Scocchetti of Italy who shot 71 out of 75, following rounds of 24, 24 and 23, to win the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh memorial Indian Open Grand Prix, that fetched her a cash award of $5,000. The 20-year-old Saniya missed the Grand Prix medal by one point to Afrah Mohammad, while Nutchaya had to settle for the silver. The second and third place winners pocketed $3,000 and $2,000 respectively.
Meanwhile, the men’s defending champion Man Singh shot rounds of 25and 22. Three more rounds will be shot on Tuesday followed by the final. Former national champion Mairaj Ahmad Khan had also shot 47, following rounds of 22 and 25.
The other member of the Indian team, Smit Singh had rounds of 24 and 23, while three-time world champion Abdullah Alrashidi of Kuwait had 23 and 24. Saif Bin Futais of the UAE led the field with rounds of 25 and 24, while Zaid Almutairi of Kuwait was on 48.
The results: Women’s skeet: 1. Nutchaya Sutarporn (Tha) 88 (69); 2. Afrah Mohammad (Kuw) 87 (6) 66; 3. Chalalai Na Sakul (Tha) 87 (5) 68; 5. Saniya Sheikh 86 (65); 12. Rashmee Rathore 58.
Team: 1. Thailand 200; 2. Kuwait 190; 3. Kazakhstan 183.
Grand Prix: 1. Simona Scocchetti (Ita) 71; 2. Nutchaya Sutarporn (Tha) 69; 3. Afrah Mohammad (Kuw) 66; 4. Saniya Sheikh 65; 8. Rashmee Rathore 58.
