CHENNAI: The grand finale of the 11th All India Police Shooting Competition could not have had a better ending for the hosts - the Tamil Nadu Police.
To a rapturous applause by over 3,000 schoolchildren and other dignitaries reverberating around the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, the state team headed by ADGP (Operations) N Tamilselvan and DSP R P Ilango of the TN Commando Force, accepted the overall championship from Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, who had instituted the trophy in 1991.
“As the elite paramilitary forces, who are better equipped than the state police teams, cornered the laurels, I presented a silver cup to be awarded to the Best State Police Shooting Team,” she said later in her speech.
The TN team scored 1,737 points out of a total of 2,400 in 14 events, beating Orissa by 74 points. Tamil Nadu shooter J Manikandaprabhu of the Armed Reserve, Cuddalore district, won a gold medal, his second in an All-India Police Duty Meet, on the opening day. M Munusamy, head constable, Special Task Force, clinched a gold in the 300 yards prone rifle event and Nagarajan, SI, TSP, bagged silver in 40 yards standing carbine shooting. However, the top honours went to the central forces, with the Central Reserve Police bagging the overall championship.
Welcoming the gathering, Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, K Ramanujam, said the competition helped in creating a sense of camaraderie among police personnel. Special Director (IB), B C Naik, also Chairman of the Central Coordinating Committee, All India Police Sports Control Board, said the event aimed at enhancing the shooting skills of police personnel.