Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi

New Delhi, Nov 20: Rifle shooter Mahit Sandhu clinched the silver medal in the 50m Prone event at the 25th Summer Deaflympics in Tokyo, marking her third podium finish of the Games. Her impressive performance was highlighted by a new World Deaf Record in the qualification round.

Mahit delivered a finals score of 246.1, finishing behind Eliska Svobodova of Czechia, who secured gold with 247.2. Mira Zsuzsanna Biatovszki of Hungary claimed bronze with 225.0. India’s other finalist, Natasha Joshi, placed eighth after being eliminated in a shoot-off.

During the finals, Mahit initially stood fourth after 14 shots. A strong two-shot series lifted her into bronze medal position, where she remained through 20 shots. Despite a 9.8 and 10.2 in her next attempts, Biatovszki’s lower scores of 9.4 and 9.8 allowed Mahit to climb into the silver medal spot. She concluded with solid 10.0 and 10.7 shots, though Svobodova maintained her lead with two 10s to claim the gold.

In the qualification round, Mahit set a new Deaf World Record with a remarkable 619.7 across six series. Natasha Joshi also qualified for the finals, finishing seventh with 611.6.

With this result, India’s shooting contingent has now earned 12 medals in Tokyo, three of which have been secured by Mahit. She previously won gold in the 10m mixed team event and silver in the 10m individual event.