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RIFLESHOOTER James Daly has encountered his fair share of drama in the lead-up to the Commonwealth Games. But the 29-year-old from Bendigo hopes that is all in the past as he gets set to represent his country on the Gold Coast. Daly – a two-time Australian prone champion - was stumped by a poor performance at an Australia Day weekend shoot in Geelong. It wasn’t until his rifle broke that the root of his concern was discovered. “I had been having a bit of trouble with my scores and I was trying to work out what was going on,” Daly said. “But when the rifle broke there was actual relief, it showed that it was wasn’t me causing the issue, there was as a problem with the gun.” Problem solved and now shooting with a rifle lent to him by former Target Rifle Victoria president Mike Jarrad, Daly has quickly returned to form. He set a new state 50-metre prone record and personal best at the TRV prize meeting at Frankston in February and followed up with a state championship victory at the Melbourne International Shooting Club in Fishermen’s Bend earlier this month. With his own rifle unable to be fixed until he travels to Switzerland later this year, Daly said he was keen to repay Jarrad with a top performance on the Gold Coast. He talked up the chances of Australia’s 28-member shooting team, which comprises pistol, shotgun, fullbore and rifle competitors, including Bendigo Clay Target Club’s Emma Cox. “Australia has normally done well in shooting – our coach thinks we have one of the stronger teams,” he said. “There are a few countries we will need to watch out for …. India and England are big shooting countries. “At the end of the day there are only eight spots in the final and each country is only allowed to put two shooters in each event.” Daly expects the toughest competition to come from within his own team in the form of dual Olympian Dane Sampson. The pair represented Australia last May in the ISSF Rifle World Cup event in Germany, where Daly out-performed the Queenslander and placed in the top 10. “If we are both shooting well our scores are pretty close,” he said. “I know I look at Dane and his scores to gauge how well I am going.” In a blow for both shooters, the 50m prone event has been dropped from the Olympic program for Tokyo 2020. Daly’s 50-metre prone event will be contested on April 10 at the Belmont Shooting Centre.

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