Dan Rivers boosted his hopes of competing in next year’s Common-wealth Games by winning the Welsh Open Airgun Championships in Cardiff.

The Wantage marksman, ranked second in England, collected the senior men’s a title in style.

In his opening contest, the 22-year-old put in a personal best to qualify for the final in first place, His score 594 (out of 600) is a selection mark for England.

In the final, he made short work of the competition and took gold with an 11.4-point adavantage over the runner-up.

He said: “I could have totally missed the target on my last shot and still won.

“But being a good sport , I stuck it straight down the middle.”

This performance did not go unnoticed as there was the England performance director in attendance.

On Sunday, Rivers took part in the aggregate competition, which combined the two-days scores to decide the overall winner.

Again he came out on top, this time scoring 590 for a total of 1184.

Rivers could compete in three events – air rifle, prone and three-position – in Glasgow next year, as he is ranked second in the country in all three disciplines.

He works as a mechanic for new employers Ridgeway Oxford Audi who provided him with transport for the weekend in the form of a 13 reg Audi A4.

“I am very grateful to them as it allowed me to carry all my kit comfortably and arrive relaxed for the competition,” said Rivers.