New Delhi, Feb 5
Reigning world champion Samrat Rana and World Cup final winner Suruchi Singh joined forces to clinch silver in the 10m air pistol mixed team event, even as the hosts extended their domination of the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship New Delhi 2026, with their gold count reaching 10 after two days of competition.
Southpaw Rashmika Sahgal and Vanshika Chaudhary in the 10m air pistol women junior and Priyanshi Purva and Chahek Kohla in the corresponding youth category, also delivered back-to-back 1-2 finishes; their combined efforts seeing India finish the day with a rich haul of 10 gold, five silver and one bronze medal, quite a distance ahead of Uzbekistan, who are second on the table with three gold medals.
Uzbekistan's lone gold of the day came from the 10m air pistol mixed team pair of Nigina Saidkulova and Mukhammad Kamalov, who prevailed over Samrat and Suruchi by 481.3 to 479.6, in the 48-shot pair final.
The Indian pair had earlier topped the 10-team qualification round with a total of 583 after 60 shots. Three more teams, Vietnam (582, 2nd) and Chinese Taipei (575, 4th), besides Saidkulova and Kamalov, followed them into the final.
The race to medals brought the best out of the Uzbeks, and they were the only team in the final, where both shooters individually registered an average of over 10.0 per shot over 24 shots, upstaging the home favourites in a nervy finish. Chinese Taipei won bronze.
In the 10m air pistol women junior event, Rashmika Sahgal of India won gold with a score of 237.9, while teammate Vanshika Chaudhary came second with 236.7. Indonesian Asyifa Rihadatul won bronze in the event.
A similar 1-2 was repeated in the third final of the day, when Priyanshi Purva won the 10m air pistol women youth gold with an effort of 234.8, while compatriot Chahek Kohla clinched silver with 233.0. Chinese Taipei shooter Liao Ke Rong won bronze.
Two more gold medals for the hosts came through the team competitions, where the trio of Rashmika, Vanshika, and Agam Grewal won the junior women's air pistol team gold with a combined tally of 1714, a good 43 points ahead of the silver-winning Kazakhstan team.
Priyanshi, Chahek, and Shiksha Saran also won the women's youth air pistol team gold with an effort of 1709. Kazakhstan had to settle for silver again with a score of 1627.
Friday will see action in the mixed team pistol competitions while also seeing some Rifle action, with three men's 10m air rifle finals on schedule in the second half of the day.
- IANS
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