Olympic-bound shooters continue fine run at Nationals

Sanjeev Rajput, Rahi Sarnobat, Manu Bhaker and Aishwary Singh Tomar tasted success in their respective events at the National Championship (rifle/pistol) as the 2020 Tokyo Olympic quota winners continued their fine run in New Delhi on Wednesday.

After Divyansh Panwar had won the men's air rifle on the opening day, senior shooter Rajput won the men's 50m rifle 3 positions while Rahi aced the women's 25m pistol, both registering top scores in qualification through to the finals.

Rajput, representing Haryana, shot a solid 1176 to top qualification before a sublime 459.6 to seal gold, while Maharashtra's Rahi shot 41 in the final to dominate Manu Bhaker, who shot 32 for the silver.

This after Rahi shot 589 to top qualification and Manu 582 to follow her through to the finals.

Manu also won the junior women's 25m pistol gold while Aishwary Tomar, who had won the junior air rifle earlier in the championships, won the junior men's 3P with a 455 in the final. The teenager from Madhya Pradesh had also shot a fine 1175 in qualification.