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| March 26, 2006 | Sunday | Safar 25, 1427 |
Irshad Ali brings joy with a shooting silver
MELBOURNE, March 25: Irshad Ali brought some smile back on the faces of Pakistan shooting contingent when he was unlucky to miss out on gold but had the satisfaction of snatching silver in the men’s 25m Standard Pistol event on Saturday.
Irshad and the eventual winner England’s Mick Gault were tied at 568 points each but the Englishman emerged winner in the the shoot-off. Still it was a splendid performance by Irshad. Another Pakistani I. Tabbasum ended up in eight position with a score of 553.
Meanwhile, Pakistan’s shooting officials were delighted on Irshad’s silver medal.
Khalid Javed, secretary of the National Rifle Association of Pakistan (NRAP), said that Irshad’s performance in Australia would give shooting a boost in the country.
It was clear that it was a hard fought victory for Gault with the gold medal being decided in a shoot-off where Gault won by 44 shots to 41. The 51-year-old Gault has won more Commonwealth Games medals than any other English athlete in history and this was his first gold at the Melbourne Games.
“Irshad is a very skillful shooter and we believe he has the potential to win more laurels in the future,” said Khalid Javed.
Results:
Men’s 25m Standard Pistol
1. Mick Gault (ENG) 568 - won in shoot-off
2. Irshad Ali (PAK) 568
3. Bruce Quick (AUS) 562
4. Allan McDonald (RSA) 559
5. David Moore (AUS) 557
6. Ronak Pandit (IND) 557
7. Daniel Van Tonder (RSA) 554
8. Mar-I Tabbasum (PAK) 553
9. Samaresh Jung (IND) 551
10. Jean Rochon (CAN) 550
11. Bob Carroll (SCO) 547
12. Friedhelm Sack (NAM) 547
13. Simon Lucas (ENG) 546
14. David Ward (JER) 544
15. Alan Green (WAL) 542
16. Marcus Hill (JER) 541
17. Alan Earle (NZL) 541
18. Leon Malherbe (NAM) 541.—Agencies
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