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22-year-old Hyderabad based shooter Gagan Narang won his fourth gold in four events when he struck gold in the men's 50m rifle 3-position, at the Commonwealth Games on Friday while hot favourite Samaresh Jung lost in a shootout to take the bronze.

Earlier, Narang had won the golds in the pairs events in the men's 10m air rifle and men's 50m rifle 3-position to which he added the individual gold medals in both events.

His pairs golds came in partnership with Abhinav Bindra, who also added a fourth medal in these games. Bindra had two golds from pairs, a bronze in 10m air rifle, and a silver medal in the men's 50m rifle 3-position.

"This is really a dream come true," said Narang. "I knew we had a great chance in air rifle but the men's 50m rifle 3-position is a new event for me. Winning the pairs was great, but adding the individual gold is just fantastic. I feel great. "

Despite his amazing golden run having been halted, Jung's bronze ensured that he will return with a medal from each of the seven events in which he has taken part.

The 36-year-old has won five golds, one silver, and a bronze medal in the games. He has the individual men's 25m standard pistol event left, which takes place on Saturday. If he wins a gold on Saturday, he will match the record of most gold medals from the Commonwealth Games; Australian swimmers Susie O'Neill and Ian Thorpe won six gold medals each at the 1998 and 2002 games, respectively.

Jung has equalled Hayley Lewis' five golds from the 1990 games. India's previous high of four golds was held by shooters Jaspal Rana and Anjali Bhagwat Mandar.

After being left with the bronze, Jung said: "I am glad to get the bronze. Everyone wants gold but you don't always get it."

Jung's loss marked the first time that India has failed to win the gold in the men's 25m centre-fire pistol. Ashok Pandit won the event in 1990 and Jaspal Rana won it in the last three games. This time, Jung finished third and Rana was fourth.

India has now won 16 golds, seven silvers, and four bronze medals from the shooting ranges, which exceeds the haul of 14 golds, seven silvers, and three bronze medals from the 2002 Manchester Games.

In the qualification for the 50m rifle 3-position which began on Friday ,Narang's total of 1,163 was a whopping 20 points better than what he shot in the pairs. That also erased the games record set by another Indian, Charan Singh, in Manchester in 2002. Meanwhile, Bindra, who had 386 (prone), 384 (standing) and 381 (kneeling), totalled 1,151, placing him second behind Narang, but just one point ahead of Burge at 1,150.

The final, restricted to the top eight, saw Narang blazing away again at 98.4. It was the best among the eight finalists. Bindra shot 97.6, while Burge collapsed to 88.2 to take the bronze. It was a high-quality contest in centre-fire, where Jung shot 578, one better than what he had achieved in the pairs event. But his score was equalled by Gregory Yelavich of New Zealand and On Ming Shaw of Singapore, the latter, could not shoot in pairs because he did not have a partner.

With three shooters tied at 578, it came down to a rapid shootout. Jung shot a 10, 9, 10, 10 and 8 for a total of 47 out of 50. That final shot of 8 cost him dearly, as On Shaw Ming and Yelavich shot 48 each. Jung was relegated to the bronze while the other two went ahead for further shootout, which was resolved in the third set.

India's Arti Singh Rao qualified for the final of the women's skeet with a score of 67 out of 75, but then managed only 15 in the final and ended sixth with 87. The gold went to Andri Eleftheriou of Cyprus, and the silver went to Australia's Lauryn Mark. Pink Le Grelle of England was third.