Commonwealth Games: Shakil wins silver in 50m air-pistol

Bangladesh shooter Shakil Ahmed has clinched silver medal in the 50m air-pistol event at the Commonwealth Games 2018 in Gold Coast, Australia Wednesday. Bangladesh Army's Shakil, who won gold at the 2016 South Asian Games, scored 220.5 points in the final round, behind Australia's Daniel Repacholi, who bagged gold with a score of 227.2. India's Om Mitharval secured bronze with a score of 201.1. This is Bangladesh's second medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games after Abdullah Hel Baki claimed silver in the 10m air-rifle event Sunday. Overall, this is Bangladesh’s eighth medal in the history of the Commonwealth Games. All eight have been achieved in the shooting discipline. Shakil scored 545 in the qualifying round to advance to the final round as the fourth best shooter. After 12 shots in the 24-shot final round, the Khulna lad rose to third before jumping to second position in the final few shots. The other Bangladesh shooter Anwar Hossain finished 10th in the same event. It should be mentioned that this is Bangladesh's first medal in the air-pistol event at the Commonwealth Games in 28 years. Atiqur Rahman and Abdus Sattar Nini last notched a medal for Bangladesh at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland when the duo clinched gold in the air-pistol team event. An elated Shakil said, "Obviously I am feeling good. I came here after taking good preparation back in Bangladesh. I wanted to post a good score here, if I'm unable to bag a medal. All the members of our shooting team registered their best score here because our preparation was really good. "I targeted a good show at the Commonwealth Games after winning gold at the 2016 SA Games. I began my preparation two years ago. I got all kinds of assistance from the federation. They gave me whatever I wanted. Bangladesh Army also assisted me. During competition, my national teammates also supported me a lot. I am grateful to them." Shooting medals at the Commonwealth Games Having been absent in the previous two editions in Brisbane (1982) and Edinburgh (1986), Bangladesh participated at the Auckland Commonwealth Games in 1990 and it was in the shooting discipline that the country achieved its first medal in the Games. Since then, seven editions have taken place so far with only shooting bringing medals to the country, taking the tally to eight, including a couple of golds and bronzes along with four silvers. In Gold Coast, Bangladesh won two silvers in shooting for the first time in a single Games. Auckland 1990: Atiqur and Sattar earned Bangladesh its first notable achievement in an international event when the pistol pair bagged gold in shooting (air-pistol pairs event). The same duo also won bronze in the free pistol pairs event in the same edition in New Zealand. Manchester 2002: Asif Hossain Khan won Bangladesh its first gold in the air-rifles individual event in England. He was only 15 years old back then. Melbourne 2006: Asif, partnering with Anjan Kumer Singha bagged silver in the men's 10m air-rifle pairs event Down Under. Delhi 2010: Asif and Baki claimed bronze in the men's 10m air-rifles pairs event in India. Glasgow 2014: Baki clinched silver in the men's 10m air-rifle individual event in Scotland. Gold Coast 2018: Baki and Shakil notched silver in the men's 10m air-rifle and 50m pistol events respectively. Shakil also became the only Bangladeshi to win a medal in pistol's individual event.