India bags Silver and Bronze in double trap, Rathore finishes 3rd

Doha, Dec 5 (UNI) Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's tryst with the Asian Games ended with a Bronze as the ace marksman finished third in the individual double trap event, while India claimed the team Silver here today.

Athens Olympic Silver medallist Rathore fired his best in the final round, scoring 46 out of 50 but his poor preliminary round total of 139 cost him dearly and he had to settle for a Bronze with a total of 185 -- three point behind Silver medal winner Chinese Hu Binyuan who shot 45 in the final round but had 143 in the preliminaries which took his aggregate to 188.

Wang Nan, who shot 45 -- less than Rathore's in the last round -- but his 144 in the preliminary round fetched him the Gold with a score of 189.

Rathore later rued a poor preliminary round marred his prospect for the Gold.

''I gave my best in the final round, actually led the six-shooter field, but I think my not-so-good score in the preliminaries went against me,'' he lamented.

''I did fairly well in the final round but in hindsight I should have even bettered it because of my preliminary round score. I am disappointed because I was hoping for a better placing. Anyway, it's all in the game,'' he explained.

''There is no excuse to offer. I did my best in a very formidable field but I think luck was not with me today,'' he added.

Rathore, however, had a major role to play in India's Silver in the Double Trap team event in which they totalled 409.

The Gold was won by China (424) and the Bronze went to Chinese Taipei (397).

Rathore had a round of 46,43 and 50 in his total of 139. The round in which he missed seven targets made all the difference to his individual medal.

Ronjan Sodhi shot 136 (45,47,44) and Vikram Bhatnagar came up with a total of 134 (47,43,44) and though their combined total fetched India a Silver, Ronjan and Vikram failed to qualify for finals finishing seventh and 10th respectively.

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