India’s top rifle and pistol shooters continued to maintain their good form at the 63rdNational Shooting Championship Competition in Bhopal on Wednesday. Anjum Moudgil won the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions title for a third consecutive year and fellow Tokyo 2020 quota holders Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal were crowned national champions in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition.
Manu Bhaker, another of India’s 15 Tokyo Olympics quota winners, also clinched the junior mixed team pistol event partnering Sarabjot Singh, thereby winning her seventh gold of the ongoing nationals. She had claimed four gold medals on Tuesday, sweeping the individual and team junior and women’s 10m air pistol titles.
Anjum was in prime form throughout the day, topping qualification with a 1172, way ahead of the field where Raj Chaudhary of Haryana came in second with a 1164. She then shot 449.9 in the finals to claim gold, leaving Tamil Nadu’s N. Gaayathri a clear 2.6 behind for silver.
Nishchal of Haryana won bronze in the women’s 3P while also winning the junior women’s 3P title with a 451.9 in the junior final. Anjum also won the team gold in the category for Punjab.
In the 10m air pistol mixed team events, the Haryana duo of Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal overcame Maharashtra’s Harshada Nithave and Aniket 16-10 in the final. Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot in the junior final were even more comfortable 16-8 winners over Punjab’s Khushseerat and Arshdeep Banga.