Manu Bhaker wins 25m pistol championship in national trials
On the first day of the National Rifle/Pistol Selection Trials 3 and 4 here on Thursday, top Indian shooter Manu Bhaker won the women's 25m pistol competition. Arjun Babuta in the men's 10m air rifle and Ashi Chouksey in the women's 50m rifle third positions were among the other winners on the day.
When it came to choosing the Indian squad for major competitions like the Asian Games and the World Championships, these trials took on prominence. Additionally, the junior shooters will compete for spots on the squads for the Junior World Cup and Junior World Championships. In the final round, Bhaker defeated local favourite Chinki Yadav 31-29 to win the competition.
At the same MP State Shooting Academy Range, she had taken home a bronze medal from the World Cup. Bronze was won by Rhythm Sangwan in a shoot-off with Neha. Rhythm had won the qualifying round with 583 points, beating Bhaker (580), while Chinki had qualified in sixth place with 577 points. But on the most crucial day, Bhaker showed that he was the greatest.
In the gold medal match of the men's 10m air rifle T3, Punjab's Babuta defeated Railways' Akhil Sheoran 16-6. After placing 1-2 in the ranking round, the two athletes advanced to the gold shootout.
Babuta was in fantastic form as she won the qualifying round with a score of 634.5. Rudrankksh Patil holds the national record with a time of 633.2. Trial results, however, are not taken into account for recordkeeping.
Hosts Madhya Pradesh won gold in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions when Chouksey beat Shriyanka Sadangi of Odisha 16-10. The local student gave it her all, winning both the qualifying round with a score of 589 and the ranking round with a score of 407.3.
Dhanush Srikanth (men's 10m air rifle) and Nikita Kundu (women's 50m rifle, three spots) were two of the juniors who took home victories on the day.