Shooter Jitu Rai does Army Marksmanship Unit proud

Adding another feather in the Army Marksmanship Unit (AMU) cap, Mhow's ace shooter Jitu Rai clinched gold in the 50m air pistol event on the opening day of the 17th Asian Games at the Ongnyeon International Shooting Range in Incheon, South Korea on Saturday.

With this gold, the Lucknow-based shooter - undergoing training at AMU - completed a grand double as he had won gold in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow earlier this year.

Rai scored 186.2 points in comparison to Phuong's 183.4 and Zhiwei stood a distant third with 165.6 points.

The shooter, who serves the Gurkha regiment, was on target from the word go after moving into the finals even as compatriot Omkar Singh failed to cross the qualification hurdle.

Praising his feat, Lt Col Shamsher Jung, pistol team official in-charge at AMU in Indore, said that it is a historic moment for the unit and his achievement is commendable.

Expecting more from AMU shooters, Lt Col Jung said, "Nine AMU shooters are representing the country in Asia's biggest sporting event and based on the extensive shooting programme, we are expecting better performances and more medals from AMU shooters.

"We have a very structured training programme which is personalised for all the pistol shooters. We design programmes according to their personnel requirements."