Aaron Heading was a master of his trade as he outscored the legendary Michael Diamond 147-146 to win gold in the single trap.

But immediately afterwards the 23-year-old from Spalding in Lincolnshire was almost lost for words at what he had achieved.

“It was a hot field. The world’s best shooters are here. So to come out on top – it’s just amazing,” Heading said.

Heading, who had won bronze with David Kirk in the previous day’s pairs event, was still clearly finding it hard to come to terms with beating the man who has won two Olympic and five Commonwealth titles.

“He’s a great guy, he is amazing. I can’t say I beat him – I just got one more.

“But I felt like I could go up a gear in the final, even though I missed my first bird. I just carried on – and look how it turned out.

“I really want to thank my family, my mum and dad, for everything they have done for me. They have helped me through the highs and lows over the last few years and I wouldn’t be here without them.”

Heading had reached the final as joint second in qualification, and after missing his opening target began to shoot with swift efficiency, missing only two more before greeting his victory with a jig of triumph.

By contrast, Mick Gault endured a frustrating day in the 25m centre fire pistol as he was involved in a shoot-off after finishing equal second on 574 with three others behind Harpreet Singh, who won gold for India with a score of 580.

After scoring zero with the second of his five shots, Gault then had a malfunction with his gun and chose not to continue, as he could not mathematically make the bronze medal position at that point.

The 56-year-old civil servant from Dereham eventually finished fourth as Vijay Kumar of India collected silver and Lip Meng Poh of Singapore bronze.

If Gault was having a bad day, it was worse for the Australian who finished a place behind him. Michelangelo Justiniano, a gold medallist in the 1994 and 1998 Games, accidentally fired all five of his final shots into Poh’s target.

Although his shots did not contribute to the Singapore shooter’s total – officials checked back using recordings of each effort – they certainly had the effect of embarrassing one of the Games’ most experienced shooters.

“I don’t recall this ever happening,” Justiniano said. “When we prepare to shoot we’re lined up on the target we’re shooting on, and apparently I’ve lined up on the wrong target.

“You wouldn’t expect it to happen to a top-level shooter, especially at this level. It’s embarrassing.

“The only system failure was the one between my ears.”

Meanwhile Gault who has collected one silver in Delhi to take his overall Commonwealth Games medal total to 16 – just two short of the all-time record – now has two competitions left before retiring.