Tight competition was witnessed during the 83rd Kenya Open Shooting competition as renowned shooters from the disciplined forces and services battled it out to garner solitary full-bore shooting slots for the South African Championships early next year.
The competition that kicked off from November 27 to December 4 at the Kenya Defence Forces Rifle Range in Nanyuki, Laikipia County featured shooters drawn from the National Police Service, Kenya Defence Forces and the Chalbi Shooting Club.
In the shooting that varied from ranges of 300 to 900 meters, 4-time champion Senior SGT Christopher Saina from the elite General Service Unit took the pole position in the final day with 283 points, upsetting his close competitors.
Saina had taken an early lead from the onset and went on to relegate Inspector Sanford Otundo to the second position with 278 points at the tail end of the competition.
The third position was scooped by Inspector Cornelius Koros from the National Police College Main Campus-Kiganjo with an average of 274 points.
The DCI team led by their Captain Chief Inspector Francis Kinyua, who early this year represented the country in the world championships in South Korea proved a force to reckon with, scooping numerous trophies in various categories.
Chief Inspector Vincent Kokeno from DCI Nairobi Region and Josephine Kola from the Investigation Bureau each took home well-deserved trophies.
Due to his precision at hitting range targets, Corporal Philip Kipchumba from DCI’s Banking Fraud Unit, and who mid this year represented country in the U.K. Bisly competitions, also qualified for the South Africa Championship edition slated for March next year.
A total of 91 shooters participated in the competition, but only 24 managed the selection for next year’s championships in South Africa.
The team of marksmen that will represent the country will consist of 12 from the National Police Service, 5 from the Kenya Defence Forces and 7 from Chalbi shooting club.
Meanwhile, the team will not let their guard down as they continue preparing to square it out with a team from England that will jet into the Country in February 2023, before the South African Championship a month later.
