CWG shooting: Spotlight on ‘Goldfinger’ Samaresh Jung

NEW DELHI - The spotlight will be on pistol shooter Samaresh Jung at the Karni Singh Shooting Range here Tuesday. The man who earned the nickname ‘Goldfinger’ at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games for winning five gold medals, struggled to qualify for one event, in the 25 metre standard fire pistol, this time around.

Four years back, Samaresh, an officer in the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), had qualified for four events, 25 metre centre fire, 10 metre air pistol, 50 metre pistol and 25 metre standard pistol.

He took the nation by surprise with his gold winning spree and ended up with five gold medals, a silver and a bronze.

But four years is a long time and none other than Samaresh knows it better. This time he is a far cry from 2006.

“Four years is a long time, a lot has changed. In Melbourne, I had qualified for all the pistol events, kept on shooting and landed with gold medals. This time I have just one event to shoot. There is no pressure on me and I am totally relaxed.”

The focus will also be on rifle shooters Gagan Narang and Tejaswini Sawant. With four gold medals already in his bag and two more expected, Narang is on course to surpassing Samareshs gold tally in Melbourne and win the David Dixon award for the best athlete.

But Gagan knows that it will be a challenging task for him to win the gold in the mens 50 metre prone and individual event.

“It is tough as the conditions are windy. But it also makes the task challenging. Lets hope for the best,” he said.

For Tejaswini, current World Champion in the 50 metres rifle prone event, it hasnt been great going at the Games. She was one of the star attractions here, but won the silver in the 10 metre air rifle and the bronze in the 50 metres rifle prone pairs event.

For her winning the gold in the 50 metres rifle prone individual event Tuesday will be the best way to end the Games. She had won two gold medals at the Melbourne Games.

“I gave my best today (Monday). We were in the running for the gold medal in the 50 metre pairs event, but missed it by a point. It hurts, but I will give my best to win the gold tomorrow,” she said.