HOMESICK rifleman Paul Simpson shot himself to within a whisker of winning bronze for Hong Kong, and then shot off home.
Simpson, 36, finished fifth in the men's individual small-bore rifle prone competition in the Commonwealth Games at Heals Range, Victoria.
He qualified joint third for the final from 39 shooters with a score of 591, a Hong Kong record which also qualifies him for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.
Simpson then missed third place by 1.5 points, finishing fifth with 101.1 for an overall total of 693.1.
But he was delighted with his performance and is looking forward to arriving in Hong Kong today (Hong Kong time) to see his wife, Jenny, and two daughters, Fiona, five, and Julia, three.
''I would like to stay for the closing ceremonies, but I'm missing the family and I want to get back to Hong Kong,'' said the Australian-born Simpson, who works for Sun Hung Kai.
''But it will be good to go back with this performance. They have had to put up with me going away to training early in the mornings and I'm glad I've got some sort of result.
