GuyanaNRA 2019 Pistol Championships…
– Hopkinson takes Practical Pistol title
Chad Melville emerged as the Overall winner of the Guyana National Rifle Association’s (GuyanaNRA’s) Smallbore Section 2019 Pistol Championships, in which some 20 members had contested the .22 and Practical Pistol competitions on November 23rd and December 1st respectively.
GuyanaNRA Smallbore Captain Dale Hing (left) poses with the recipients of prizes for the.22 Pistol and Practical Pistol Shoot 2019 Championships
Melville, who respectively placed 2nd and 3rd in the Practical and .22 competitions, ran away with the Overall Trophy when both points were tallied. He accumulated 475 points, well ahead of 2nd placed Mike Tang, who had 448. Tang placed 4th and 2nd in the two competitions.
Third overall was Joshua Ramlakan, with 423 points. He was the top shot in the .22 competition. Fourth was Azzad Hassan, with 408 points; and comprising the fifth position were the following persons: Surajbali Persaud (379), Ms. Rawatee Shiwdin (349), Satya Dayaram (346), Murtland Smith (327), Kelsey Andrews (324) and Yonell De Abreu (271), to close out the top ten (10) Overall positions.
Rawatee Shiwdin emerged as top markswoman, ahead of Yonell De Abreu.
Chad Melville
The top shot in the Practical Pistol competition was 64-year-old Harold ‘Top Gun’ Hopkinson, with 175 points. He was not in the jurisdiction, and did not compete in the .22 Pistol competition. Chad Melville, with 161 points, ended on 2nd, ahead of Smallbore Vice Captain Gordon Richards (152), Mike Tang (131) and Azaad Hassan (114), who comprised the top five.
The top five shots in the .22 Pistol competition were won as follows: first place winner was Joshua Ramlakan, with a total of 327 points and 9Vs; his total in the Practical Pistol competition was 96 points. Second place went to Mike Tang (317 points 3Vs); third went to Chad Melville (314 points, 9Vs); fourth went to Azaad Hassan (294 points, 8Vs); and fifth went to Rawatee Shiwdin (294 points, 5Vs).
Smallbore Captain Dale Hing — who chaired the presentation ceremony held at Guyana Olympic Association headquarters at Block XXX Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown, and handed over the prizes — complimented all the participants for making each competition a resounding success.
He was high in praise for the two female shooters, Shiwdin and new comer Ms. Yonell De Abreu. The Overall champion, Chad Melville, was unavoidably absent.
Meanwhile, the New Year promises to be a hectic one for the Smallbore shooters, with the first international event set to be the Secure Innovations & Concepts’ Amazon Shoot, an annual event held in Suriname and sponsored by Guyanese businessman Harold ‘Top Gun’ Hopkinson.
About 15 shooters, led by Hopkinson, are so far slated to be in the Guyanese contingent attending this event.
