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The 2010 Commonwealth Games campaign was a resounding success thanks to all
our athletes, who literally gave it their best shot! The positive knock-on
effect of this on the sport through widespread media coverage and focus amongst
the grass roots of target shooting across Scotland will hopefully be felt
in clubrooms around the country as new shooters try their hand at the sport and
the established competitors are filled with renewed resolve - fingers crossed.
Glasgow 2014 is already a very real objective......
Jen McIntosh with her haul of golds in Delhi
Graham Rudd brings us his exclusive diary from the Commonwealth Games . .
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We arrived without any problems other than bitterness towards me and Donald
because we were upgraded to business class for the Dubai-Delhi flight. My first
impressions of the heavily-guarded village were that it didn't look new and it
reminded me of holidaying in on the Costa del Sol. I think a lot of work has
been rushed so the overall finish of the place has suffered. Little things such
as broken tiles being used rather than discarded and badly painted walls. In
general though, it's comfortable. The apartments are pretty good, each bedroom
has en suite and plenty of space for our kit. The Scotland team staff had
cleaned the rooms to a high standard before we arrived to ensure that the health
risks were minimal. Their efforts have proven worthwhile; over a week since
arrival and the shooting team are still in good health! Thanks guys, we are very
grateful!
One real bonus of being in the village is the food hall. We can eat 24/7 for
free! I think this is where the coaches spend most of their time but they're
bound to deny it. There are a few places round the village for the teams to
relax. These areas have pool tables, air hockey, table football, televisions and
computers. For the first 2 days we had wifi in the apartment but for some reason
it packed in and has never come back on. The staff in the village, however, are
good at sorting most issues swiflty so it's likely the internet problem is more
complex than just a broken router.
The Indians have been very accommodating and this meant we were able to get a
lot of training done at the Karni Singh Shooting Range. The facilities are
excellent and are ready for the Games. A lot of work has been done at the range
since our last visit in February.
Some of the shooters were responsible for decorating the Scotland
accommodation, notably hanging bunting between the rooftops of Block 2 and
3. For the first few days after arriving we had little to do so decorating
helped pass the time as well as raising team spirit.
Most of the shooters attended the opening ceremony at the main Games stadium.
The event was well organised and ran smoothly. It was an evening full of
national pride with the highlight being walking into stadium wearing the
Commonwealth Games tartan kilt! As ever, the Scots proved popular with the other
nations and we had to pose for loads of photos! The English, on the other hand,
took a lot of orders for Indian meals after deciding to dress as waiters.
Yesterday, pre-event training took place for some of the team. Kay and Jen had
their 3x20 training whilst I had training on the 10
 metre
range for Men's Air Rifle Pairs. The organising committee decided to allow lone
shooters to shoot as guests in the Pairs event, however, their scores would not
be published. I was delighted to hear this as it meant I could get a good
warm-up for the following day's competition.
Today, I got up at 5am and headed to the range on the 7am bus. The match began
at 9am, with all eyes on the Indian pair of Abhinav Bindra (Olympic Champion)
and Gagan Narang (World Record Holder). As expected, the Indian men won with 595
and 598 respectively. The English pair of Ken Parr and James Huckle secured
silver with 585 and 589, while Bangladesh came 3rd just 1 point behind.
Photograph of Jennifer and Seonaid McIntosh copyright Craig Williamson
/SNS
Group. Departure pic with Jennifer and Kay Copland: Steve Lindridge/Ideal Images
Donald McIntosh has pictures from Delhi on his Facebook page |
Scottish Smallbore Rifle Association
