Airgun selection competitions
Another round from the air-rifle and air-pistol competitions took place last weekend at the Bidnija ranges. There was an encouraging entry to the events and organisers had to stagger shoots over a seven-hour schedule due to the ever increasing...
Another round from the air-rifle and air-pistol competitions took place last weekend at the Bidnija ranges. There was an encouraging entry to the events and organisers had to stagger shoots over a seven-hour schedule due to the ever increasing popularity in the sport.
The junior Air-Rifle competition was first to commence. Here, the competitive spirit and unending motivation of the young shooters stood out. After three hours of competition, William Smith emerged winner with 591.0 points, followed by newcomer Noah Vella who managed a creditable 569.4. Odin Sammut (546.1) and Michaela Azzopardi (329.1) were third and fourth respectively in the overall classification.
The Senior Open Air-Rifle event was won by Usama Mustafa with 596.0 points. Mark Sammut was second with 587.6 points and Joe Smith third, 552.3.
There was no beating Ray Cacciattolo in the Olympic 10-metre Air Pistol discipline. He finished with 639.1 points to win this event ahead of Martin Grech (590) and Rita Zammit (442.8).
The Olympic 10 metre Air-Rifle was the most popular event and attracted the highest number of participants. Lawrence Darmanin took the honours on the day with a score of 655.9 points.
Renato Brincat, who was making a comeback after an absence of four years, achieved a merited second placing with a score of 618.2 points.
Annabel Borg, one of the four women in the competitions, ousted upcoming Charlo Chircop by a mere 1.3 points in a tense duel for a third place. Her score was 613.5 points.
The competitions were conducted by international judge Gino Galea, assisted by Ben Chircop. Trophies, sponsored by K&S Trading Ltd, were presented to the winners by Charlo Bonnici MP.