It is remarkable to be awarded in any type of contest organised by Biman. On April 11, Shakil Ahmed added another feather of success to his collection by winning the silver medal in the 50 metre pistol contest.
February 10, 2016 was surely a memorable day for the whole of Bangladesh, where Shakil had won the gold medal in free hand pistol shooting in the same competition, in Kahilipara, Guwahati. In the finals this year, Shakil won silver with a total score of 220.5. The gold winner was the Australia's Daniel Refakoli with a total score of 227.2, while the bronze went to India's Omprakash Mitharwal who scored 221.1. This year he participated in the 10 metre air pistol, but he couldn't perform as well as the previous times.
Although he had gotten into the finals he got the sixth place at the end. But in his area of expertise, he didn't miss the final chance. When Omprakash from India was taking the bronze medal, the scene swiftly changed to him taking his place on the victor's platform taking the silver.
It's not as if it was an exaggeration, because, in the other events, there was only failure on Bangladesh's part, but in shooting Shakil was bringing glory over and over.
Shakil achieved the score 545 in the preliminary when he was selected for the fourth position in the finals. Until the fifth shot his score was 45.9 and was in the fifth position, by the twelfth shot his score came up to 165.8 and took the third position.
The gold winner of the event, Refakoli, was always on step ahead of Shakil. And, by the time when there were only two shots left, Shakil's score was 202.2 and Refakoli was 208.7.
Bangladesh is witnessing a new era in shooting with Shakil. Pistol shots are comparatively more expensive than rifle, that's why pistol practice was less important in the past, and success evaded our grasp. However, this time there was no lack of practice on the part of the army and the federation. And, that's why success was brought home.
Bangladesh had last seen the gold medal in the Oakland Commonwealth games in 1990, brought home by Atikur Rahman and Abdus Sattar Nini. After this, pistol shooting were not much discussed. But, Shakil is now bringing a new sunrise to the art of pistol shooting. After S A and Commonwealth Games, Shakil's road is now going to take him to the Olympics.
