Long Sutton shooter Aaron Heading blasted his way to silver in the men’s trap at the Commonwealth Games on Tuesday.
Heading, who is representing England at the Glasgow games, was outgunned by Olympic bronze medallist Australian Adam Vella in the gold medal match at the Barry Budden Shooting Centre.
The 27-year-old South Holland ace missed three of his first six clays and six in total in the match, while veteran Vella smashed 11 out of 15 to take the title.
Heading, who was the defending champion after grabbing gold in Dehli four years ago, said: “To come away with silver if you had seen me training – oh my God!
“I’d have taken your hands off if you’d told me, ‘Aaron, you’ll get silver’.
“I need a crowd to shoot well. I need the support, this is my stage.
“I really tried my best. I’m relieved it’s another medal, although slightly disappointed it wasn’t the one I wanted.”
There was a further boost for Heading on the podium, where he was handed his medal by Formula One legend Sir Jackie Stewart.
India’s sharp-shooter Manavjit Sandhu claimed the bronze medal after a sudden-death shoot off with Australia’s Michael Diamond.
