World No. 3 Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore's preparations for the Athens Olympics received a boost on Tuesday when he won the double trap gold in the 2004 Asian Clay Shooting Championship in Bangkok, Thailand.
Rathore's win took India's tally to four gold and one silver medal in the July 1-7 meet. The Indian marksman finished with a score of 132/150 (44, 46, 42) in the preliminary round and 43 in the final to bag the title.
Rathore went into the final in second place but eclipsed his rivals in the title round to finish ahead of Shih Wei Tin of Taipei China 174 (131 + 43) and Ruw Hamed of Kuwait, who settled for the bronze with a total of 173, after going into the final in top spot, according to a statement from the National Rifle Association of India.
Rathore's superb show also helped the Indian team, also comprising Moraad Ali Khan (128) and Ronjan Sondhi (128), to win the gold with a total of 388/450. Team Taipei won the silver with 382 points and Qatar (373) earned the bronze.
Earier, India won two gold medals in trap, with Mansher Singh, who will also vie for glory in Athens, picking the individual gold. He also helped the Indian team, comprising Manavjit Singh Sandhu, Anwar Sultan and himself, win the gold.
Manavjit won India's lone silver, finishing second behind Mansher Singh in the individual competition.
In the skeet events, beginning tomorrow, India will be represented by Mairaj Khan, Amit Sanghi and Rahoul Rai.
