Young gun shoots for success

By Jarrod Potter
CHAMPION shooter Anthony Sottosanti, 20, of Pakenham, will further prove his credentials when he shoots in next month’s world championships.
Sottosanti (men’s skeet) earned his chance to represent Australia in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Shotgun Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, from 5 to 13 September.
Sottosanti has been shooting for the last five years, after going with his uncle to the range.
“I’ve been shooting for about five years,” Sottosanti said. “My uncle is a shooter and took me along to the clay target range and I just had a shot with him and thought I had a bit of a knack for it and kept doing it.”
Sottosanti has emerged quickly in the Australian shooting team, after winning a junior championship to set him on the path towards being an Olympic shooter.
“I’ve been competing at the top level for about three years, made the Australian team about then,” Sottosanti said. “I won an open as a junior, a national event in Perth and got selected in the Victorian team.”
Sottosanti believes he will be able to perform at his peak in Serbia.
“I’m feeling pretty confident,” Sottosanti said. “I’ve had a lot of competitions leading up to it, with another in Perth in two weeks.”
On choosing skeet over trap shooting, Sottosanti continued the family tradition.
“It (skeet) was what my uncle shot, so I just preferred it to trap.”
The final chance for Australia to qualify quota places for the 2012 London Olympic Games comes at the Oceania Championships at the Sydney International Shooting Centre from 26 November to 1 December.