Shooters cut cake, raise toast to celebrate Melbourne heroics

New Delhi, Apr 4 (UNI) Shooting stars, including Samresh Jung and Gagan Narang, gathered to sparkle at dim-lit Lizard Lounge in the capital as they uncorked champagne and cut cake to celebrate their gold rush at the Melbourne Commonwealth Games recently.

At a late-night feliciatation function here yesterday, the two were joined by fellow shooters Pemba Tamang, Vijay Kumar, Sanjeev Rajput and Samresh's wife Anuja Jung in rousing reception on their homecoming.

The shooters, immediately after the Melbourne Games, went to Guangzhou in China to participate in the ISSF World Cup.

Samresh, who became the first Indian to win the David Dickson Award for the Best Athlete in the CWG after his five-gold haul, cut the cake while Narang and others joined him as they raised the toast.

A clip from the CWG depicting the exploits of the marksmen was played on a giant screen in the background as everyone relived the glorious moments from Melbourne.

Out of India's 22 gold at the CWG, 16 came in shooting. In the ISSF World Cup in China, Gagan made his mark by grabbing a gold and an Olympic berth in the 10m Air Rifle event.

UNI DH PM HS1830