Gagan clinches Olympic berth

Aug 01, 2010 |

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July 31: It was business as usual for World No. 2 Gagan Narang as he won the bronze medal at the 10 metre air rifle event at the ongoing World Championships in Munich on Saturday, thereby becoming the first Indian to seal a place for the 2012 Olympics in London. “My son has been a consistent performer and he proved it yet again by winning the bronze on Saturday. Its a testament to his patience and never-say-die spirit. I had spoken to him before the event and he had promised to put up a good show and he has,” said Gagan’s father B.S. Narang on Saturday.

Speaking on Gagan becoming the first to qualify for the 2012 Olympics, B.S. Narang said, “It is obviously a great news for us and we couldn’t be more happier.” The ace shooter shot 597 during the qualifying round and notched up 102 in the final round to bag a grand total of 699 to bag the bronze. On his part, Gagan had his feet firmly on the ground. “Any medal for the country gives me pleasure and winning one at the World Championships is obviously very satisfying. This win came at the right time for me and I still have a few more events to go here and hope to do well in them too,” Gagan said.

Rajiv Bhatia, secretary, National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) was delighted at Gagan’s show. “He has always been our best hope and I hope he continues with his medal-winning performances in the coming events too,” he said.

Niccolo Campriani of Italy won the gold while Peter Sidi of Hungary clinched the silver. The gold went to Italian Niccolo Campriani, who shot a total of 702.5 (599 qualifying + 103.5 final) while Hungarian Peter Sidi bagged the silver with 700.4 points (599 qualifying + 101.4 final).

Meanwhile, Abhinav Bindra, 2008 Beijing Olympics gold medallist finished 25th in the event and did not even make it to the final round.

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