CHENNAI: The sporting world has been crippled by the pandemic. But that didn’t stop some elite shooters from around the world from taking part in an online competition from their homes on Wednesday. Organised by indianshooting.com with the aid of Zoom app, 50 shooters from seven countries featured in the Shooting Championship, with most of them displaying their skills from their living rooms.
Taking part from her hometown in Jhajjar district in Haryana, Manu Bhaker was one of the big names. The youngster, who finished third in the 10m air pistol event with 572, was not content with her output but was happy to be part of the competition. “We were shooting in different zones, but we were together. It was lovely being part of this,” she said. Amanpreet Singh took top honours with 576. Finishing behind him was Ashish Dabbas (575).
World No 1 Divyansh Singh Panwar, who settled for fourth spot in the men’s 10m air rifle, was also thrilled to get some action. “It was a great experience. It has been a difficult phase for everyone, and we haven’t had the chance to practice. This is a new experience and it was good to compete after a long time,” Divyansh said. Austria’s Martin Strempfl won it with a tally of 632.5. Meghana Sajjanar finished runner-up with 630.5 ahead of Etienne Germond of France, who shot 629.4.indianshooting.com founder and former shooter Shimon Sharif, the brains behind the event, was delighted. He hopes to hold such meets again along with the finals. This one did not feature finals. “It went smoothly and we got a positive response from the shooters and some foreign coaches. I’m highly encouraged and will organise more competitions in the days to come. I’m also planning to include finals,” he said.