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Key Points

Olympian Anish Bhanwala continued his dominance with consecutive wins in the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event. Tamil Nadu's Narmada Nithin clinched a narrow victory over Sonam Maskar in the women's air rifle final. The qualification rounds saw intense competition with Mehuli Ghosh topping the charts. The trials will continue with three more finals scheduled for Saturday.

Key Points: Anish Bhanwala wins double as Narmada Nithin tops air rifle trials

  • Anish Bhanwala sweeps 25m RFP trials with back-to-back wins
  • Narmada Nithin beats World Cup silver medalist Sonam Maskar
  • Mehuli Ghosh tops qualification in star-studded air rifle field
  • Navy's Pradeep Singh Shekhawat pushes Anish in tight final
2 min read

National Selection Trials: Anish bags double, Narmada wins air rifle

Olympian Anish Bhanwala dominates 25m RFP while Narmada Nithin edges Sonam Maskar in a thrilling 10m air rifle final at National Selection Trials.

"Narmada shot a composed 253.7 in the 24-shot final to edge out Sonam Uttam Maskar by 1.7 points. – Competition Report"

Dehradun, June 27

Former world champion and Olympian Anish Bhanwala won back to back trials in 25m Rapid Fire Pistol (Men) event, while Tamil Nadu's Narmada Nithin clinched the top spot in 10m Air Rifle Women on day four of the National Selection Trials 3 and 4 for Group 'A' Rifle and Pistol shooters, currently underway at the Trishul Shooting Range, Maharana Pratap Sports College, here in Raipur.

Narmada shot a composed 253.7 in the 24-shot final to edge out ISSF World Cup Final silver medalist Sonam Uttam Maskar by 1.7 points. Delhi's Rajshree Anilkumar secured third place with a score of 230 after 22 shots.

Earlier in a star-studded women's air rifle field, Narmada finished sixth with a score of 629.5 in qualification. World Championship medalist Mehuli Ghosh topped the qualification round with 632.2, just 0.1 ahead of Sonam, while Rajshree was a close third at 631.9 after six series of 10 shots each. Shreya Agrawal (630.5), 50m 3P T4 winner Vidarsha K Vinod (630.3), Ayonika Paul (629.4), and Dnyaneshwari Jayveer Patil (629.3) completed the T3 final line-up.

In the men's 25m RFP T4 final, Anish maintained his top form to register a score of 30 and claim his second consecutive final win of the trials. Navy's Pradeep Singh Shekhawat pushed him all the way but had to settle for silver with 29, while Anish's teammate from Haryana, Adarsh Singh, took third place with 23 shots.

Anish had also topped the T4 qualification round with 584-20x, again bagging a double in the qualifications. Adarsh followed with 581-14x, finishing ahead of fellow Haryanvi shooter Mandeep Singh (579-16x). Bhavesh Shekhawat (577-10x), Udhayveer Sidhu (576-15x), and Pradeep Singh Shekhawat (574-22x), all contributing to a tightly contested field.

The trials continue on Day Five (Saturday, June 28, 2025) with three finals on the schedule: 10m Air Rifle Women T4, 25m Pistol Women T4, and 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men T3.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul K.
Anish Bhanwala is proving why he's India's pistol shooting superstar! Back-to-back wins show his consistency 🇮🇳. Hope he brings more medals for India in upcoming international events. The competition from Pradeep and Adarsh is making our team stronger 💪
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Priya M.
Narmada's victory over Sonam by just 1.7 points shows how intense women's shooting has become! So proud of our female shooters representing India globally. The qualification scores were nail-bitingly close too - just 0.1 difference between top 3! 🔥
A
Amit S.
While the performances are impressive, I wish there was more media coverage of these trials. Our shooters work so hard but don't get the recognition they deserve compared to cricket. Doordarshan should broadcast these events live!
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Shalini R.
The depth in women's air rifle is amazing! So many talented shooters - Narmada, Sonam, Rajshree, Mehuli all within 3 points. This bodes well for team events. Hope they get proper funding and facilities to continue excelling. Jai Hind! ✨
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Vikram J.
Haryana continues to dominate shooting sports! Anish and Adarsh showing why the state produces champions. But good to see talent emerging from other states too - Tamil Nadu's Narmada, Maharashtra's Dnyaneshwari. India's sporting future looks bright 🌟
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Neha T.
The pressure these athletes handle is unbelievable! Imagine competing when the difference between gold and silver is less than 2 points. Hats off to their mental strength. We should have more sports psychology support for our shooters.

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