Mike Gilligan and Jeremy Bird both believe they will be better for their Baku experience, despite missing out on the chance to shoot for men’s skeet medals.
Resuming in 16th and 30th place respectively after day one of qualifying, both Gilligan and Bird improved to climb the rankings, but were unable to squeeze into the top six.
Two-time British champion Gilligan finished on 120 – two points off a semi-final spot – placing 13th overall and was satisfied with his efforts.
“The whole experience has been really unique,” he said.
“We don't often get to compete in multi-sport events like this. There is the Commonwealth Games, the Olympics and now this, so it’s a great experience. You can only take positives from it.
“It was a good start, a good finish and just a bit dodgy in the middle. I missed some easy ones which are always going to cost you in the end. I’ll live and learn and move on.
“The competition standard has been really high, especially with the wind. It has been moving some of the clays around. Anything like 123 in this weather, which is what will likely make the final, is a great score.”
Bird placed 27th with a score of 111. And having witnessed team-mate Amber Hill win women’s skeet gold yesterday, said he will take fond memories home from the inaugural European Games.
“I was pretty happy with the last round, there were a couple of silly mistakes which summed up my competition really,” he said.
“It was good, they are really tricky these conditions. The people that have shot the big scores in these conditions have shot really well.
“The facilities are amazing and the shooting centre is world class.
“There has been a good vibe in the Team GB camp particularly between the shooters. We’ve all supported each other really well and it was great to see Amber get her win yesterday."
© Sportsbeat 2015