Harpreet-Vijay win gold in shooting

The duo of Vijay Kumar and Harpreet Singh kick started Saturday on a high note for Indian shooters in the Commonwealth Games, winning the gold medal in men's 25m-centrefire pistol pairs event at the Karni Singh Shooting Range.

Vijay and Harpreet shot an impressive 1159 to bag the top prize, ahead of New Zealand's Greg Yelavich and Alan Earle who won the silver. Singapore's Lip Meng Poh and Bin Gai grabbed the bronze.

In the women's section, India's Suma Shirur and Kavita Yadav had to be content with the bronze in the 10-metre air rifle event as Malaysia's Ayuni Halim and Nur Suryani bagged the yellow metal. Singapore's Ser Xiang Wei Jasmine and Cheng Jian Huan bagged the bronze medal.

"I am naturally delighted to win my first gold in the Commonwealth Games. I dedicate it to the Indian Navy and my senior officers. Without their support, I wouldn't have made it," said Harpreet after bagging the top prize.

Asked about the competition he and his partner faced from New Zealand's Poh and Gai, Harpreet said, "It was a very tough and it was difficult to perform in front of the home crowd. But I was well prepared for the Games."

Vijay credited coach Smirnov Pavel for his success.

"Whenever there is a problem, he was there to help us," said Vijay.

However, woman shooter Shirur was disappointed not to have won the gold medal. "We could have done better. In fact we were hoping for a better showing but I guess it just wasn't our day," Suma said after her event.

On her teammate Kavitha, Suma said, "She is down with a fever and is also suffering cold and cough. It's not easy to shoot if you are not fit physically."