New Delhi/Bhopal, Dec 24 (IANS): Ganemat Sekhon and Bhavtegh Singh Gill emerged as standout stars, securing top honours in their respective events in the 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions, here at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range with Punjab marking its dominance in skeet shooting, while Tamil Nadu shone in the 10m air rifle mixed team competition in Bhopal.
Ganemat Sekhon of Punjab clinched her second consecutive national title in the women’s skeet competition, demonstrating exceptional precision.
In the individual women’s final, Sekhon hit 50 out of 60 targets, comfortably defeating her state-mate Asees Chhina, who managed 46 hits to take silver.
Olympian Raiza Dhillon secured bronze in a competitive field.
This victory marked Sekhon’s second gold of the competition, as she had earlier won the women’s team event with teammates Parinaaz Dhaliwal and Jasmeen Kaur.
Young Bhavtegh Singh Gill, fresh from his triumph at the World University Championships, claimed his first senior national title in men’s skeet with an impressive 54 hits in the final.
Fatehbir Singh Shergill of Air India secured silver with 51 hits, while Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan of Uttar Pradesh took bronze with 43 hits out of the first 50 targets.
Gill added two more golds to his name by winning the men’s and junior men’s team events earlier in the competition, capping off a remarkable performance.
In the junior men’s skeet final, Haryana’s Ishan Singh Libra edged past Bhavtegh Singh Gill in a dramatic shoot-off, claiming gold with a 6-5 score after both were tied at 52 hits.
The junior women’s skeet event saw Raiza Dhillon secure another gold for Haryana, hitting 53 targets to outclass Vanshika Tiwari of Madhya Pradesh, who managed 47 hits. Yashasvi Rathore of Rajasthan took bronze.
At the M.P. State Academy Shooting Range in Bhopal, Tamil Nadu’s Karthik Sabari Raj R and Narmada Nithin dominated the 10m air rifle mixed team competition. They defeated a strong Railway duo of Olympian Arjun Babuta and ISSF World Cup Finals medalist Sonam Uttam Maskar with a convincing 16-6 victory in the gold medal match.
The Tamil Nadu pair had finished second in qualification with a score of 632, just 0.4 points behind the Railway pair. However, they turned the tables in the final to secure gold. Madhya Pradesh’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Gautami Bhanot bagged bronze.
In the junior mixed air rifle category, Rajasthan’s Yash Vardhan and Devanshi Katara triumphed over Karnataka’s Tilottama Sen and Abishek Sekhar with a 16-8 win in the final. Maharashtra claimed bronze.
West Bengal’s Abhinav Shaw and Sandrata Roy won gold in the youth category, narrowly defeating Andhra Pradesh’s Taniyu Sirangi and Vijendla Bhanu Praneeth 16-14. Madhya Pradesh secured bronze after Gautami Bhanot and Satyarth Patel outperformed Haryana’s Jain and Ameerah with a 17-11 scoreline in the bronze match.