The story of the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range is as fascinating as the history that surrounds it. Inaugurated on Sunday, the range, which has the Adilabad Fort as a natural backdrop, was built for the 9th Asian Games in 1982.
Time and lack of upkeep ensured the facility fell into bad days and such was the state that it had to razed. Spread across more than 72 acres, the range has been built from scratch for the Commonwealth Games and boasts of 10m, 25m and 50m indoor arenas, which can seat 500 spectators each. An armoury building, with impregnable security doors, has also been constructed for storing ammunition.
The spotlight, however, is on the six composite shotgun ranges for trap and skeet events. The shooting points are equipped with LCD displays while state-of-the-art electronic targets and scoring systems form a part of an impressive gadgets’ list.
Union Minister for Sports, M.S. Gill, who inaugurated the Range on Sunday, could not hide his exuberance. “There is no other shooting range in the world that can provide the same amenities and world-class technology like this. We will further develop the Range so that it becomes an oasis in the middle of an urban hot spot,” he said.
Ace trap shooter, Mansher Singh, too was pleased at the manner in which the Range had been completed. “It has exceeded expectations. The facilities are world class, although testing them will take time,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Ace trap shooter, Mansher Singh, too was pleased at the manner in which the Range had been completed. “It has exceeded expectations. The facilities are world class, although testing them will take time,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}Gill asks shooters to be patient
Gill hit back at the six pistol shooters, including Samaresh Jung, who had appointed their own coach, saying they should have been patient.
HT had first reported on the issue in an article titled ‘Red tapism stumps shooters’ on December 15, 2008 where Hungarian coach Csaba Gyorik had trained elite pistol shooters and the Navy team for the National Championships, despite the foreign trainer’s contract ending after the Beijing Games. Then too he was invited by shooters as they were feeling frustrated because of delay in appointing of a foreign coach by the NRAI and the ministry.
Bindra equals Beijing score in Munich
IANS adds: Abhinav Bindra matched his Olympics score at the International Shooting Competition at Munich on Sunday. Bindra shot a series of 99, 99, 100, 99, 100 and 99 to equal his qualification score of 596 out of 600, which he had shot in Bejing to win gold.