REIGNING national rifle shooting champion Mahendra Persaud performed creditably in the St. George’s international shooting Match at Bisley, Great Britain recently.
Persaud  who is also the national fullbore captain finished 40th overall from a field of 875 shooters who competed in the prestigious competition. In stage 1 –  15 rounds at 300 yards where the first 300 shooters  qualify for the second stage, Persaud shot a possible 75 with nine 9 Vs and was placed 92nd .
In the second stage 15 rounds at 600 yards, he shot another possible 75 with seven Vs to finish with a total for the first secondstages of 150:16.
The qualifying score for the final 100 shooters this year was 149:17 vees and above. For the second stage he moved to 43rd while for the third and final stage of the St Georges only the 600 yards score was  carried forward so he started the final at 70th place.
Persaud shot 73:8 at 900 yards for a total of 148:15 to place a very creditable 40th and following his success has now moved up to Class ‘X’ from his previous ‘A’ classification and is currently the only Caribbean shooter with that classification.
He said the level of competition was exceptionally high this year and the persistent rain and at times gusting and changing winds did not make shooting any easier.
The other Guyanese participant at Bisley this year was the experienced   Richard Fields, who showed glimpses of returning to form, and had a few good individual shoots, while using a new set of rifle sights.
According to Persaud the   Guyana National Rifle Association (GNRA) is awaiting permission from the relevant authorities for the waiver of taxes and subsequent release of ammunition imported from England so that the national shooters can resume training, as they have no ammunition at present.
He said that National Championship will take place  in November and is likely to attract shooters from Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.
Meanwhile, Guyana is scheduled to host the West Indies Rifle Shooting Championships next year and indications are that teams and individuals from as far as Canada and Australia will be here, along with the five other regional territories.
Great Britain the current World Long and Short Range Champions will be sending a team of 16 shooters for a one-month tour of the Caribbean in April 2013.