Shooting

After an effervescent and entertaining opening ceremony, the Asian Games got underway in marvellous fashion as the athletes involved began their respective pursuits toward gold-medal glory.

With all the pre-competition talk done, a host of competitors had little time to sample the Incheon atmosphere, as they were thrust straight in to compete in various disciplines. And with 36 sports to sample and 439 gold medals to be won, there was plenty of stellar action to sample on the first day of the 2014 Asiad.

Here’s your roundup of how the first medals were won on Day 1 and the main storylines at the start of what’s set to be an engrossing Games in Incheon.

Full Day 1 Results And Schedule To Follow 

Shooting Glory For India

Jitu Rai was the star of the show on the opening day of the Asian Games, taking gold for India in the 50-meter Air Pistol competition. The Indian shooter held off the challenge of Vietnam’s Hoang Phuong Nguyen and Wang Zhiwei, who finished in second and third place, respectively, to take the title.

Rai was coming into this one on the back of a silver medal in the World Championships on his last competitive outing, and he showcased some excellent form here to post a final score of 186.2 in what was a wonderfully fought contest.

The gold-medal winner was delighted to finish atop such a high-class field, per Times of India:

I wanted to win this gold badly and was under a lot of pressure. The competition here was even more than in the Commonwealth Games or the World Championship.

I am happy that I could fulfill my wish.

Indian cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle paid tribute to Rai’s display:

And it was not the only medal won by the Indians in the shooting, as Shweta Chaudhry notched the nation's first medal of the games in the 10-meter Air Pistol event, a discipline that was won by China's Zhang Mengyuan, with South Korea's Jung Jee-Hae taking silver.

What made Chaudhry’s bronze even more impressive was the fact that she had to change her weapon ahead of this event; some problems at customs left her original weapon kept in isolation for three days, per Times of India.

China Dominant on Opening Day

For the fourth consecutive year it was the Chinese who took the opening medal of the games, as Guo Wenjun, Zheng and Zhou Qingyuan won the women's 10-meter Air Pistol team event. The trio won by five points from Chinese Taipei, with the threesome from Mongolia taking the bronze medal.

And for Zhang it would prove to be an extra special day, as the 24-year-old won her second gold medal of the day in the individual discipline.

It was the first of a clutch of gold medals for China on Day 1 of the games, as the nation set a positive precedent for the rest of the competition with some excellent performances in various disciplines. Indeed, the men took centre stage soon afterwards as Pang Wei, Pu Qifeng and Wang Zhiwei produced an excellent display to give China another gold and wins in the shooting on Day 1.

Subsequently it's China who top the medals table at the end of Day 1, and if the country's competitors continue to perform with such distinguished dominance, it's difficult to see any nation coming close to matching their medal haul.

Golden Start For Hosts

Lee Ha-sung picked up South Korea's first gold medal of the games on Day 1, emerging victorious in the men's changquan. He posted a score of 9.71 points to put him ahead of Macau's Jia Rui and Daisuke Ichikizaki of Japan, who scored 9.69 and 9.67 points respectively.

Roared on by the home crowd at the Ganghwa Dolmens Gymnasium, Lee—who qualified for the final in ninth position—produced an almost flawless display to give South Korea their first gold medal in wushu at the Asian Games for 12 years.

Lee said the crowd helped to play a big part in his victory, per johnhapnews.co.kr:

I felt just the right amount of tension. When the Korean spectators clapped and cheered, I got really pumped up.

I told myself I shouldn't get too caught up in the result. I just wanted to give the best I had.

And the home supporters found themselves celebrating for the second time on Day 1, as the South Korean team claimed the gold medal in the dressage event, too. They posted a score of 71.737 points to finish ahead of Japan and Taiwan, who took second and third place, respectively.

Malaysian rifle specialist Nur Suryani Mohamed Taibi is the most pregnant woman to ever compete in the Olympics, and her resolve to compete in the 2012 Summer Games proves that nothing is impossible.

Jezebel.com reports: "she, at 8-months, will be the most pregnant woman to compete."

That's right. Eight. Months.

Taibi found out she was pregnant just two days before her Olympic trials back in January, according to the Star, and she didn't think she'd be able to compete:

When I found out that I was pregnant before competing in the Asian meet, I thought that that was the end of my Olympic dream as I will have to turn my attention to the baby. But when I eventually qualified for the 10m air rifle event on merit, it made me rethink that perhaps I am supposed to go all the way despite my pregnancy.

You may think that her baby bump (well, it's slightly more than a bump, at eight months) would be a huge disadvantage. Apparently, that's not the case. According to the Jezebel.com report, she says, "One advantage that I've seen is that my stability increased—maybe because my gravity increased, my weight increased."

Her biggest worry is that her baby will kick at just the wrong time and cause her shot to go awry. 

All I know is that this woman is one tough cookie. She travelled halfway across the world to compete in the most prestigious athletics competition the world has to offer.

Her courage and resolve are admirable. Her fortitude is astounding. I've never been a fan of watching events like shooting, but I'll be tuning in to watch Taibi give it her best shot this year when she competes in London.

Anything is possible. Taibi is a shining example of what a person can do when they put their mind to it.

Follow @JesseReed78

Last night featured the fourth season finale of History Channel's Top Shot, and just like in previous seasons, it came down to the final station.

The day started out with the final four contestants learning what their first elimination competition would be. They found out that they would be shooting trees of plates, just like in previous years.

The twist this year was using a lever-action rifle instead of the standard pistol. The four men were split up into pairs and the losers of each round would face off in a final elimination round to see who went on to the next challenge.

Augie Malekovich ended up being sent home after being outshot by Greg Littlejohn in the final round. Chris Cheng and Gary Shank were safe from their first-round wins.

The three men knew what awaited them next, and they had apparently thought about it throughout the competition.

A tradition on Top Shot is for the final three competitors to sit at a bar in the middle of a desert and pick their poison. By poison, I mean their weapon, target and distance.

Each person has the chance to earn six points by successfully shooting both of their own choices as well as hitting all four of their opponents' challenges.

This did not happen for any of the men. The first three round saw each contestant try to one-up their opponents by choosing increasingly difficult shots. No one made their own shots, let alone the ones set up by their opponents.

Once round four rolled around, everyone knew it was time to get down to business. In the end it was Gary who ended up being sent home, and only Greg and Chris were left standing.

The two had a night in the house before their final competition was to take place and they enjoyed themselves by having some drinks and talking about their time in the competition.

The next day would determine the winner of the entire season, earning that person a prize of $100,000 and a pro shooting contract from Bass Pro Shops.

The final stretch of the competition was a series of seven side-by-side shooting stations featuring various weapons from the entire season.

1. Hit two jugs at 25 feet with the flintlock pistol.
2. Fire the Henry repeater to knock down two three-part targets from 50 feet.
3. Use the Webley to hit nine jars in a moving rack from 35 feet.
4. Hit two rows of six targets each with the Colt. The targets got smaller each row.
5. Hit three targets on a rotating wheel at 25 yards with the crossbow.
6. From the prone position, shoot two targets at 125 and 150 yards with the BAR.
7. Use the Milkor grenade launcher to hit two targets at 50 and 75 yards.

As the two men approached the gauntlet, they saw all the other contestants from the individual portion of the competition standing there to cheer them on.

As Colby outlined what was to happen, you could see the look of elation on both men's face. They were both at the end of what is quite possibly the toughest shooting competition in the world and they were going to have fun, no matter what.

The seven stations featured various weapons that each man had performed well with, as well as performed poorly with.

As the two ripped through the various stations it was neck and neck, with both men having the lead at various points.

At the final station when the two arrived at the same time, it seemed like Greg was a lock to win. The final station was a grenade launcher and Greg is a world champion grenadier.

The two loaded up six rounds and started shooting. When the smoke cleared it was Chris Cheng, the self-proclaimed IT geek who was the last man standing.

Greg had a smile from ear to ear as he hugged the man who just took him out, because there was no way he could have lost by any closer of a margin.

Chris is now the History Channel's fourth Top Shot winner and $100,000 richer. His pro shooting contract will also allow him to continue competing, and I expect that after winning this show, he will be excited to get to the next competition.

They have made a habit of bringing back past winners as coaches in following seasons, so I do not think this will be the last we will see of Chris Cheng.

Congrats on a great win, Chris.

Top Shot is a show on the History Channel where marksmen compete in ridiculous competitions to see who is the best marksman.

Everything from rocks and slingshots to mini-guns and explosives have been used to test skills, as well as everything in between.

Season 4 began this past Tuesday and we got the first two eliminations before we even found out what teams people were on.

The opening contest was taking a single shot with a rifle and whoever the two furthest from the bull's eye were got eliminated. Forrest McCord, a world champion pistol shooter, and Craig Buckland were eliminated after being the furthest from the target.

The main competition for the show was each team having all eight players take on a row of targets which became increasingly smaller. If you didn't hit all six in a row then your targets went back up.

The contest was hard fought and both teams had the lead at various points, but it was the red team who came away with the win.

The team nominated Frank and Gregory to go to the elimination round, which most of them seemed to want to compete in after they saw what it was.

The elimination round saw the two face off in a side-car challenge. Each man was equipped with an M-1 Carbine and 10 targets to shoot at with only 15 rounds to do it with.

The challenge looked like a lot of fun, but it was all business as both men were fighting to stay in a competition where the winner will earn a pro shooting contract.

In the end, it was Frank who was sent home, leaving the blue team down a man after the first day.

This season has lots in store as we have been promised that instead of emulating history, the show will try to make history. Colby mentioned something about a 1,500-yard shot in an interview so I am excited to see what this seasons has in store.

After the first episode, who do you want to see win the whole thing?

Top Shot is a competitive shooting reality show which premieres its fourth season February 14, on Valentine's Day.

How symbolic that a day associated with arrows from cupid and a legendary shootout would be the day a show about archers and marksmen would debut.

Last season had its fair share of drama to go along with the shooting. The most controversial contestant was Jake Zweig, who I had the pleasure of interviewing for this site.

This year we have been told that the stakes will be even higher as the competitions will get more wild and the level of competition will be raised even higher.

Last season's winner Dustin Ellermann won the show after surprising everyone the entire season with his incredible accuracy and ability to stay cool under pressure.

This season's contestants are sure to be in for a treat as these competitions are like carnival rides for gun nuts sometimes.

Last year saw Mike Hughes win an elimination challenge which saw him strapped to a chair which was pulled backwards at 15 mph while he had to shoot at targets on either side of the track. Talk about daunting.

Another of the more entertaining competitions from last season saw each man strapped to a platform which spun like a large clock while they had to aim at circles of targets.

This season has been amped up considerably. The challenges will be more difficult and more diverse as they are sure to explore a few weapons never before used on the show.

Rumors of a 1,500-yard shot have been circulating since the end of last season while the rest of the competitions have been kept rather hush-hush.

Tune in February 14th to the History Channel's Top Shot, and check back weekly for my recaps of the show.

Another season of Top Shot is in the books and a clear winner has been named. After eliminating 15 other competitors it was finally time for someone to claim the $100,000 prize.

The show started off with the final four competitors being Chris, Mike, Dustin and Gary. These four men have each performed very well and each man has also sent at least one person home during elimination challenges.

The first competition saw the shooters having to face off one-on-one in pairs. There were four hanging sets of three targets. The goal was for the shooters to hit the other persons colored targets, while they were moving back and forth.

In the end it was Chris who was the first person from the finale to go home. The next contest was the ever popular pick your shot.

The three remaining contestants each got to pick a target, weapon and distance from a set of predetermined choices.

Mike had the most impressive choice when he had the men shoot an AK-47 with only one hand. He and Gary each made the shot look easy.

Gary was the one who was sent home at the end of the contest when he failed to hit a target set out by Dustin.

Mike and Dustin faced off in a gauntlet that contained seven stations containing guns they had used throughout the entire competition.

When the smoke cleared and the targets were all shot, Dustin emerged as the winner of Top Shot. The young Christian Camp leader who had no official shooting resume had defeated 15 people made up of military,  law enforcement and competitive shooters, including world champion revolver champion Cliff Walsh and Pistol grandmaster Mike Hughes.

His plans for the money include expanding his Christian camp to take on more kids.

This season had its share of drama but in the end it was the superior marksmen who took the win.

Last night was the last episode before this season's finale of Top Shot on the History Channel.

The challenge the contestants had to go up against was unlike anything I have ever seen. The contestants were strapped into a device which basically worked like a hand on a clock. It took them in a 360-degree circle, and they had a circle of targets to shoot at.

There were 20 targets set up on a board 35 feet high. Each contestant had 28 rounds with a Heckler & Koch to try and take out as many of the targets as they could.

Gary was up first. He showed promise in the practice session, but when he got up there he was only able to hit one target.

Dustin, the best shooter in many of the competitions, went next. He started off strong with a perfect 10 out of 10 hits, but he faltered at the top and ended up totaling 12 hits.

Chris was next and he too hit 12 targets, but with one less bullet than Dustin, putting him into the lead.

Next up was Mike Hughes, who had just returned after being eliminated. He returned after Jake had chosen to leave the show. The Rules said if someone leaves, the last person eliminated would return. Mike returned and fought his way back into the house by eliminating Phil.

Mike ended up hitting zero targets which came as a shock to me because he was one of the better shooters in the show.

Last was Alex who ended up hitting two targets. This made him eligible for elimination along with Mike and Gary.

At the end of the day Alex, Mike and Gary were eligible for elimination and Chris and Dustin were safe and guaranteed a spot in the finale.

The group voted in Mike after he volunteered to go after hitting no targets, and Alex who had hit more than Gary, but had never been to an elimination challenge.

The elimination challenge saw the contestants use a Steyr high-tech pistol. Their objective was to hit as many targets as they could while seated in a device which pulled them backwards at 15 mph.

Alex went first and hit 12 of the 20 targets which looked impressive given the difficulty of the challenge.

Mike was next, and living up to his grandmaster title he took out all 20 targets, securing his place in the finale.

So that leaves Chris and Dustin who were safe from elimination, Gary who was not voted into elimination and Mike who fought his way back from elimination as the four guys who will compete next week in the finale.

Next week we will find out who will take home the $100,000 prize and the title of Top Shot.

Who do you think will win?

Last night's Top Shot featured this season's most powerful rifle yet, the MAC-50 Sniper rifle. The weapon was certainly impressive as Colby revealed it to the contestants, to which a clearly excited Mike Hughes could be heard saying "It's a .50" with a big smile on his face.

"Shooting a 50 Caliber is on everyone's bucket list." according to Dustin, the man who would take home the winning time in the challenge.

This week's competition was simple: Each contestant had one target to hit. The kicker was the target was 500 yards away and moving. The day chosen for the contest had high winds, which would make for interesting shooting. The other change was that the top four shooters of the day would all be safe from elimination, which meant only three would be eligible to go.

Alex went first, and even though he said in his interview he was nervous, he nailed it on his first shot in just about twelve seconds.

Chris was up next, and it took him three shots and 51 seconds to complete the challenge. The next two competitors were Jake and Phil, who each hit in one shot. Chris looked worried, as he was the only guy to take more than one shot so far.

Gary was next. This guy has been solid the whole competition, but this challenge would be his weak spot, as it took him 14 shots and over five minutes to complete. He became visibly upset during the challenge, but never gave up and got the target eventually.

Dustin came up and nailed it in one shot in just above eight seconds. Mike Hughes used three bullets in 44 seconds to hit his target. So this meant Mike, Gary and Chris were the three lowest performers, and thus eligible for elimination.

After some discussion in the house, Gary offered up his head to the chopping block based on his poor performance, as did Chris and Mike. It ended up coming down to Gary and Mike in elimination.

Mike has been called Grand Master Flash by some of the other guys on the show due to his status in the pistol shooting world, and when Gary found out the elimination challenge was with a pistol, he became nervous.

The elimination challenge was using a P-38 pistol to shoot out 36 Plexiglas targets. The difficulty was added when Colby announced that each contestant would only get 30 pre-loaded rounds to use, which meant they would have to manually reload the magazines once their ammo was spent.

Mike took off to a good lead by hitting six for six on the first row of targets. Gary caught up, and at a few points, it was an evenly tied contest.

Mike experienced some difficulty, as a few of his targets only chipped when he shot them, and for the point to count, they had to break in half.

In the end, Gary sent Mike home after a very heated battle. Now the show is down to just six competitors, and with only a few weeks left, we will soon find out who the next Top Shot will be.

What did you like about last night's show?