Guyanese marksmen will look to continue hitting the ‘Bulls eye’ in team shoot today

Oct 13, 2012 Sports

---

 

After a lengthy hiatus from the ranges, veteran rifle shooter, Lennox Braithwaite, made a resounding return, capturing the honours when the West Indies Full-bore Individual Shooting Championships concluded at the Timehri ranges, Thursday evening last.
While he intends to continue pressing the trigger and acquiring more accolades in the future, Braithwaite is now focused on helping his teammates to regain the team championships which gets underway this morning and concludes tomorrow.  The marksmen rested yesterday and return today and tomorrow for the team competition where they will attempt to regain the long range title they had relinquished to defending champions, Jamaica.  They will compete

on the 900 and 1000 yards ranges today and return tomorrow morning for competition in the 300, 500 and 600 yards ranges. Today’s activities commence at 8:00hrs.
Braithwaite’s feat in the individuals could be considered remarkable for several reasons; firstly, the way he managed to shake off the rusts after a prolonged absence from competition. The veteran shooter had experienced severe challenges from the onset and for most of the competition trailed behind his compatriots, Fullbore Captain, Mahendra Persaud and Dylan Fields even as Ransford Goodluck hovered threateningly among the top four contenders.
Lennox Braithwaite, Fullbore Captain, Mahendra Persaud and Dylan Fields had surged ahead early in the competition and had led the point standings after Jamaicans, John Nelson and David Rickman had surged ahead on the inaugural day of the competition. It proved to be the only moment in the sun for the foreigners. Indeed, it was a demonstration of grit and perseverance that saw the Guyanese marksman defying great challenges to cop the prestigious accolade.
Braithwaite said that the competition was stiff but admitted that Thursday’s shoot proved to be the most challenging after he had experienced problems with his sightings coupled with the wind change. To ameliorate the problem, the veteran shooter had adjusted his trigger but inadvertently forgot to torque the bedding screw with the concomitant result that his shots were terribly skewed and distorting his grouping. It was here he resorted to his experience and made the necessary adjustments.
Armed with unbending faith in his God, Braithwaite, a born again Christian, addressed the task at hand and improved his lot in the 900 and 1000 yard ranges on the penultimate day. He shot 65 points on the 900 meters range with 3 V Bulls and followed up with 72 points and 7 V Bulls on the 1000 meters range. The veteran rifleman closed off the competition with a grand aggregate of 388 points and 19 V Bulls.
For Braithwaite, a veteran of some 25 years, his achievement was inspired through faith in God, support from his team mates and an indefatigable will to do well. “I always wanted to be a marksman,” he intimated. His ambitions led him to enroll in the Guyana Police Force in 1994 and as luck would have it he was placed in the armory where naturally he felt at home. After leaving the Force, Braithwaite continued to hone his skill among his contemporaries of the local rifle association until 2004 when he decided to take a break while traveling to other countries.
His calling was rifle shooting and it was not long before Braithwaite returned to Guyana. He was selected on the team to compete for honours in the last held West Indies championships in Antigua and Barbuda. Unfortunately, the local shooters, who were defending the team title, lost out to Jamaica.
Braithwaite was the beacon light in that category where, despite the team loss, he managed to cop the prize for the individual with the highest score in the team championships and was awarded the prestigious Wogart prize. That feat signaled his return to the international stage and Braithwaite’s performance in the just concluded individual shoot has firmly sounded the message that he is back.
The veteran marksman is not oblivious to the support received from his team mates as well as the many businessmen and women whose input, he said, has been of immense value.
Meanwhile, Mahendra Persaud and Dylan Fields also turned in remarkable performances in the individual competition and finished in the 2nd and 3rd positions respectively. The former shooter scored 380 points with 23 V Bulls, while the latter registered 378 points with 20 V Bulls. Veteran shooter, Ransford Goodluck, amassed 375 points and 15 V Bulls and occupied the fourth place. These top shots along with the rest of the support crew will look to even better or match their individual showings to claim both short and long range trophies. However, the Jamaicans and Trinidadians among other will look to upstage them. Easier said than done, an exciting and competitive two days of shooting is anticipated.  (Michael Benjamin)

---

---