Clay shooting championship: Navy win gold, Army claim silver in Olympic Skeet
Inadequate govt support holding back talent, say participants.
ISLAMABAD:
Windy weather was an added obstacle for shooters during the Olympic Skeet for the team category of the National Clay Shooting Championship on Tuesday.
On the third day of the competition, that is being held at the Gun and Country Club, the gold medal with a of 196 score went to the Pakistan Navy team. At 188 points the Pakistan Army got the silver medal, Punjab Rifle Association garnered 153 points and won the bronze medal and the fourth position with a score of 147 went to Federal Rifle Association.
One of the organiser, Colonel Agha Raza, commented that Olympic Trap is trickier than the Olympic Skeet. “In the former, there are 15 machines used that shoot targets at different angles whereas Skeet uses only two machines positioned opposite to each other, to shoot targets at a fixed diverging angle,” he said. The guns used for this leg of the competition were 12-bolt caliber shot guns.
Meanwhile, a number of marksmen were disenchanted by the lack of government support for the sport. Shakeel Illyas, who won a silver medal for the Sindh team in the individual category of the Olympic Trap leg on Monday, told The Express Tribune that shooting is largely a preoccupation of the wealthy in Pakistan as it’s a very expensive sport.
However, he said that it is not necessary that the best shooters come from higher socio-economic brackets. “There are immensely talented shooters in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, but because the government doesn’t patronise the sport, they will remain undiscovered,” he said.
Veteran shooter Emaad Sherpao likened the sport to academics, saying that just as a good student emerges from good schooling, a good shooter can only be polished by training. The self-taught coach said, “Despite being good shooters, we are not polished enough to compete on an international level as there is no patronage from the government unlike countries.”
Muhammad Shafique from the Pakistan Navy team won a silver medal in the team category. The Karachiite commented that taking part in such championships usually requires self-financing, which makes participation a task unto itself.
Unfortunately, despite the opportunity being provided to shooters, the lack of tools was also a hurdle.
Illyas shared that he was able to purchase his own weapons and ammunition--Italian-made Beretta and Periza guns and New Zealand-manufactured Fiochhi cartridges. “However, most participants end up using locally-made Shaheen ammunition that is not up to the standard of international brands,” Illyas said. Earlier on Monday, the final of the Olympic Trap leg of the competition and the prize distribution was held and the individual Olympic Skeet leg of the championship will follow on March 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2012.
Windy weather was an added obstacle for shooters during the Olympic Skeet for the team category of the National Clay Shooting Championship on Tuesday.
On the third day of the competition, that is being held at the Gun and Country Club, the gold medal with a of 196 score went to the Pakistan Navy team. At 188 points the Pakistan Army got the silver medal, Punjab Rifle Association garnered 153 points and won the bronze medal and the fourth position with a score of 147 went to Federal Rifle Association.
One of the organiser, Colonel Agha Raza, commented that Olympic Trap is trickier than the Olympic Skeet. “In the former, there are 15 machines used that shoot targets at different angles whereas Skeet uses only two machines positioned opposite to each other, to shoot targets at a fixed diverging angle,” he said. The guns used for this leg of the competition were 12-bolt caliber shot guns.
Meanwhile, a number of marksmen were disenchanted by the lack of government support for the sport. Shakeel Illyas, who won a silver medal for the Sindh team in the individual category of the Olympic Trap leg on Monday, told The Express Tribune that shooting is largely a preoccupation of the wealthy in Pakistan as it’s a very expensive sport.
However, he said that it is not necessary that the best shooters come from higher socio-economic brackets. “There are immensely talented shooters in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, but because the government doesn’t patronise the sport, they will remain undiscovered,” he said.
Veteran shooter Emaad Sherpao likened the sport to academics, saying that just as a good student emerges from good schooling, a good shooter can only be polished by training. The self-taught coach said, “Despite being good shooters, we are not polished enough to compete on an international level as there is no patronage from the government unlike countries.”
Muhammad Shafique from the Pakistan Navy team won a silver medal in the team category. The Karachiite commented that taking part in such championships usually requires self-financing, which makes participation a task unto itself.
Unfortunately, despite the opportunity being provided to shooters, the lack of tools was also a hurdle.
Illyas shared that he was able to purchase his own weapons and ammunition--Italian-made Beretta and Periza guns and New Zealand-manufactured Fiochhi cartridges. “However, most participants end up using locally-made Shaheen ammunition that is not up to the standard of international brands,” Illyas said. Earlier on Monday, the final of the Olympic Trap leg of the competition and the prize distribution was held and the individual Olympic Skeet leg of the championship will follow on March 28.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2012.