Mairi clinches nation’s first shooting gold medals

 TANIA Mairi shot her way to two gold medals for Papua New Guinea in the women’s shooting yesterday.

Her victory in the women’s 22m Standard Pistol competition saw her become the first Papua New Guinean to win gold medals in the individual and team events.

It was a double celebration for the country with Mel Donald finishing with the silver medal for her efforts.

Tahiti’s Maeva Darius, who won gold in the 10m air pistol earlier in the week, won the bronze medal.

Mairi said the sport required focus and was happy to have held her nerve and claim the gold after only a few months training. 

“Time management and focus was the key to winning,” Mairi said.

“It was a shock winning the gold but I still have a big challenge to overcome in November for the Oceania Championships in Sydney and even Commonwealth Games next year.

“I am proud to put my country on the map,” she said.

To grab the gold, it all started in the first five series of hits after the final qualifier when Mairi was tied with teammate Donald.

 Mairi hit five series with seven points to win gold while Donald trailed by a point on the final target.

She acknowledged friends, families and Government for recognising the sport.

Team PNG’s top shooter Peter Leahy, who doubles as the national trainer, said that PNG women had the potential to do well at bigger international events.

“She got it and we have more work to do to prepare for the bigger battles,” Leahy said.

“Such performance is great and I encourage more women to get involved in the sport.”

Mairi’s husband Jack Maharu attributed her success to her commitment to training and hard work.

“Let the floodgates open, hopefully this puts PNG women up there in shooting,” Mahuru said.