HYDERABAD: Notwith-standing the ankle injury and cold conditions, a gutsy Asher Noria cornered glory in the international shooting junior World Cup at Suhl, Germany, last week. The 17-year-old Hyderabad-based shooter reigned supreme for the second year in succession to bag the double trap gold.
Holding his nerve and keeping cool, Noria pipped Chinese Alessandro (Italy) and Praj Philip (Slovakia) for the gold. “I started off well by collecting 50 and 48 in the first two rounds but somehow I was off-colour in the third as I could get only 42 to finish with a score of 140 out of 150,’’ said Noria, who was on target for a world record but for an ordinary third round.
Noria’s immediate opponent Alessandro had shot 142 and led the field at that stage. Noria and the Italian shooter were tied with 186 in the final round as the Indian shot 46 while Alessandaro could shoot only 44 points. It led to a shoot-out in which Noria emerged champion.
“It was a fiercely competitive event. With conditions being tough because of cold, rain and windy weather, I had to make a lot of technical adjustments in shooting the clay pigeons. But at the end of the day, I was extremely happy with my performance,’’ said Noria.
The young shooter, who has been working with world record holder Ronjon Sodhi, attributed success to his coach. “I had been in touch with my coach, who gave me a few technical inputs and also advised me to keep focused. Those inputs turned out to be crucial, particularly in this close finish,’’ he said.
Incidentally, Noria emulated Sodhi’s feat of successfully retaining the gold. “Sodhi has always been of great help.’’
He is surely following in the footsteps of Sodhi.
Noria is now aiming for the Munich World Championship that will be held in July. “I will be competing in the junior event of this championship. It is a bigger event although the same shooters will be there. It is a huge challenge,’’ he said.