Asian Games gold medallist Saurabh Chaudhary continued his terrific form winning the first men’s 10m air pistol trial (T1) with a score of 248.2 at the ongoing national shooting trials in Delhi on Saturday. Meanwhile, Jitu Rai shot 579 to qualify fourth but eventually finished eighth in the final.
Chaudhary’s score was a massive 4.6 points above the present world record score of 243.6, set by Ukranian Oleh Omelchuk in Munich earlier this year.
The 16-year-old from Uttar Pradesh also won the junior men’s event, shooting 245.5 in the final, which is equal to the present junior world record score that he already holds.
Chaudhary, who had won a gold at the Youth Olympic Games, also qualified for the eight-man final with a qualification score of 578, which made him seventh best. Achal Pratap Singh topped the table with a score of 582 at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range.
In the final, Anmol Jain of Haryana came second to Chaudhary in the men’s final with a score of 242.3, while statemate Nikhil Chandila came second in the junior men’s final with a score of 242.4.
In other events, Parul Kumar of the Air Force won the men’s 50m rifle prone trials.