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: