Delhi's Rashmika Sahgal wins pistol triple crown in Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting

New Delhi/Bhopal, April 25 (IANS) Rashmika Sahgal of Delhi bagged a triple crown in the women’s 10m air pistol in the two-day final of the 23rd Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship at the M.P. State Academy (MPSA) ranges in Bhopal on Friday. A top domestic competition attracting top shooters from across India, the event is being held in two centres simultaneously, the pistol events in Bhopal and the rifle competitions at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi.

Rashmika, who will be part of the junior Indian team that will compete at the Junior World Cup in Suhl, next month, shot 239.9 in the women’s final, 243.2 in the junior women’s final, and 240.6 in the youth women’s final to win all three and pull off an incredible feat. Earlier on Thursday, Naamya Kapoor of Delhi had won the junior women’s 25m pistol with 34 hits in the final.

Also on Thursday, India international Divya T.S. of Karnataka clinched the women’s 25m pistol title, first firing a world-class 586 in qualifying and then scoring 31 hits in the 10-series final comprising five rapid-fire shots each. Divya also had the likes of Olympian and former Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat, who finished fourth, for company in the final.

In Delhi, the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) final was won by the Railways’ Akhil Sheoran, a reigning world championship bronze medalist. He shot 462.5 to win the final, even as West Bengal’s Adriyan Karmakar picked up the junior men’s 3P title.

Riya Shirish Thatte of Maharashtra was among the other stars of the first day of finals on Thursday, finishing second behind Divya with 28 hits in the senior final, while also finishing fourth in the junior final.

Just like Riya in Bhopal, Rohit Kanyan of Haryana stole the limelight in Delhi, taking silver in the men’s 3P, while also reaching the junior final to finish sixth.

Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale had a mixed day, winning gold for Railways in the men’s 3P team event, while also equaling his own Championship qualification record of 589, to top the qualifications. He then finished fifth in the men’s 3P final.

--IANS

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