Neha Sapte had many things on her mind when she took aim in the final round of the womens 10m air rifle individual event. She was struggling with her stance but more importantly,it was her impending 10+2 Board examinations,beginning in Mumbai on Thursday morning,that was responsible for her momentary slip on Wednesday. After leading the field during the qualification round with a score of 396,Sapte was third in the all-important round at one stage. She held her nerves and came back in her last four shots to clinch gold with a point,as Bangladeshs Ratna Sharmin Akhter took silver. Sapte tallied overall 496.1 points,including 395 in the qualification while Akhter finished with 494.5,followed closely by Australias Robyn van Nus. Her father Milind Sapte by her side,the 17-year-old conceded that she was somewhat distracted. I was struggling with my stance during the final. Also with my exams tomorrow,it was difficult for me to concentrate. But I pulled it off, she said. National coach Sunny Thomas was delighted,but at the same time sought improvement. She was edgy in the final and her shooting suffered a bit. But a one-point deficit isnt much and she showed that to us. But scoring wise she can do better. She could have easily touched 103 on any other day. There was another bout of nervous wait for Sapte,as her flight was yet to be confirmed. Sandhu betters mark Meanwhile,Manavjit Singh Sandhu bettered the meet record and his personal best in the trap event as India added another two gold medals on Day 7. Manavjits 146 was followed by Englands Aaron Heading (143),while Australias Adam Villa (142) bagged bronze. Sandhu missed the world mark of 125 during the qualification by a point but had a comfortable lead in the final. India swept the mens 25m Center Fire Pistol individual. Vijay Kumar again took the top spot on the podium with 580 points. Mahender Singh won the silver with 568 points while Viraj Singh settled for bronze.
