Hariom, Aditya defy competition

PUNE: Army shooter Hariom Singh defied a star-studded field of shooters, including Abhinav Bindra and Gagan Narang, to win the men's 50m rifle prone gold at Shiv Chhatrapati sports complex in Balewadi on Wednesday. Hariom was consistent throughout the final, but at the end he was lucky to have maintained his position. He shot 205 in the final, only 0.2 point ahead of Air Force's Aditya Singh, who shot 204.8 to win silver.
Bronze went to Bindra, who after 14 rounds, was tied with Narang at fourth position, but secured the bronze after the 16th round, with a marginal lead of 0.3 point. Narang shot 163.5 to finish fourth before bowing out after 16 rounds. Bindra shot 183.8 before getting eliminated after the 18th round.
Though there was a close fight for the bronze, it was 42-year-old Aditya Singh, who stole the limelight with his confident shooting.
Shooting in his first national final, wing commander Aditya showed no sign that he was a first-timer at this level.He was shooting against experienced competitors like Bindra, Narang, Hariom, Chain Singh and Rakesh Manpat, but the Air Force shooter looked undeterred by the competition.
Aditya was going neck and neck with Bindra. After 12 shots, Bindra was second with 123.6 points, while Aditya had shot 123.4. Aditya's 13th shot was a 9.9, while Bindra shot 9.5. The 14th shot from Aditya's rifle was a 10.4, while Bindra hit 10.5, giving Aditya a 0.1 point lead. There was no looking back for Aditya after that.