Olympians Sift Kaur Samra and Anish Bhanwala delivered commanding performances to clinch victories in their respective events at the third National Shooting Selection Trials (T3) held in Dehradun.
In the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event, Sift Kaur Samra, who has been in consistent form this season, reaffirmed her dominance with a clinical display in the finals. Though Ashi Chouksey led the qualification round with a score of 592, just ahead of Sift’s 591, it was the Olympian who stole the show in the final. Sift finished with a total of 467.3, leaving a considerable gap between her and silver medallist Aakriti Dahiya, who scored 456.9. Chouksey had to settle for third place with 443.9.
Meanwhile, in the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event, Commonwealth Games medallist Anish Bhanwala showcased precision and composure under pressure. He topped the finals with a score of 33, ahead of Adarsh Singh (29) and Pradeep Singh Shekhawat (23). Anish’s qualification score of 582, with 21 inner 10s, was also the best in the field, narrowly edging past Pradeep’s 581.
Elsewhere, Umamahesh Maddineni emerged as a surprise winner in the men’s 10m air rifle final, defeating 2022 World Champion Rudrankksh Patil. Umamahesh scored 252.2 in the final, edging past Rudrankksh’s 251.5. Tokyo Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar finished third with 230.1. In qualifications, Shourya Saini and Divyansh had both shot 632.9, with Saini taking the top spot due to a higher count of inner 10s.
The T3 trials are part of India’s ongoing selection process for key international events, including the upcoming Asian Shooting Championships in Kazakhstan and the ISSF World Cup in China. With top names delivering solid results and new talents making their mark, the trials continue to shape a strong and competitive national shooting team.
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