Ankur Mittal wins individual bronze in Asian Shotgun

Ankur compiled four perfect rounds of 30, including three in the qualification phase, but a round of 27 in the semifinals reduced him to a fight for the bronze in the individual trap of the 6th Asian Shotgun Championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Ankur (Right) had to win a shoot-off with Hamad Alafasi of Kuwait, after being tied on 27, to eventually beat Saad Al Mutairi (ISP) 30-27 in the bronze match.

Ankur Mittal topped the qualification with 143 but had to settle for the individual bronze and the team silver in double trap in the 6th Asian Shotgun Championship in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

Ankur was easily the best shooter, as he compiled four perfect rounds of 30, including three in the qualification phase, but a round of 27 in the semifinals reduced him to a fight for the bronze.

In fact, Ankur had to win a shoot-off with Hamad Alafasi of Kuwait, competing as an ‘’Independent Shooting Participant (ISP)’’ 2-1, after being tied on 27, to eventually beat Saad Al Mutairi (ISP) 30-27 in the bronze match.

Ahmad Alafasi (ISP) and Saif Alshamsy of the UAE had shot 29 in the semifinals and won the gold and silver eventually. Ankur had shot four points better than the next best in qualification and that helped the Indian team to the silver medal, four points behind ISP, despite Yoginderpal Singh (131) and Sangram Dahiya (129) not shooting at their best.

The results:

Double trap: 1. Ahmad Alafasi (ISP) 26 (29) 135; 2. Saif Alshamsy (UAE) 24 (29) 139; 3. Ankur Mittal 30 (27) 143; 4. Saad Al Mutairi (ISP) 27 (28) 135; 8. Yoginderpal Singh 131; 14. Sangram Dahiya 129. Team: 1. ISP 407, 2. India 403, 3. UAE 400.