World No.1 Ankur Mittal credits 'ideal environment' for success in double trap shooting

Having become India's second shooter ever to reach World No.1 in double trap, Ankur Mittal on Sunday credited his support system for providing the 'ideal environment and training'. The 25-year-old Mittal will enter the prestigious ISSF World Cup Finals, to be held in the capital from October 23 to 30, as the numero uno shooter in his event.

"I am happy that I could participate in bringing glory to my country in shooting sports," Mittal said.

He thanked his educational institution for helping him. "I am happy to share the credits of my laurels with Manav Rachna International University, the state and the central government who provided me with the platforms, ideal environment and training to become the only Indian apart from Mr. (Ronjan) Sodhi to accomplish this feat," he added.

Sharing his thoughts about the support required for creating world-class sportsmen in the country, Mittal said, "We sportsmen require a lot of support for our educational and training needs that need to be fulfilled efficiently to breed sportsmen of international standards.

"Manav Rachna has provided us with a very supportive higher education system, Olympic level shooting range for practice and the dedicated sports science center that caters exclusively to the training and emotional needs of sportspersons."

The university felicitated Mittal for claiming the top position in the ISSF rankings.