India’s ace shooter Saurabh Chaudhary continued his strong comeback story by clinching gold in the men’s 10m Air Pistol event at the 24th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship. Maharashtra’s Sakshi Sunil Padekar also impressed with a dominant victory in the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions event.
The championship is being held simultaneously at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi and the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal.
Saurabh Continues Strong Return
Representing Railways, Saurabh Chaudhary produced a composed display in the final of the 10m Air Pistol Men ISSF event to secure gold with a score of 242.8. Uttar Pradesh shooter Gaurav settled for silver with 240.7, while Delhi’s Hardik Bansal claimed bronze.
The former Asian Games champion had earlier qualified second with a score of 584-25x, behind Haryana’s Kamaljeet Choudhary, who topped qualification with 585-24x.
Saurabh’s recent performances suggest the 23-year-old is steadily rediscovering the rhythm that once made him one of the brightest stars in world shooting. The youngster had made history by becoming India’s youngest Asian Games gold medallist in 2018.
Sakshi Padekar Dominates Rifle Event
In Bhopal, Maharashtra shooter Sakshi Sunil Padekar delivered one of the standout performances of the competition by winning the women’s 50m Rifle 3 Positions title with a final score of 357.7.
Olympian Anjum Moudgil of Punjab finished with silver after shooting 357.2, while Maharashtra’s Aakriti Dahiya secured bronze.
Padekar had already stamped her authority in qualification, topping the standings with 590-34x — a score that equalled the Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial record.
Young Shooters Also Impress
The championship also saw several emerging shooters make headlines. Uttar Pradesh’s Manya Mittal captured the junior women’s title, while Rajasthan’s Abhishek Saini won gold in the junior men’s category after an intense final.
The Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Championship remains one of India’s most important domestic shooting tournaments and continues to serve as a major platform for identifying future international talent.
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