Anjum claims third straight title in 50m rifle 3P titles

Bhopal: India’s top rifle and pistol shooters continued to maintain their good form at the 63rd National Championship with Anjum Moudgil winning the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions title for the third year in a row here on Wednesday.

Moudgil’s fellow Tokyo Olympics quota holders Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Singh Deswal were also crowned national champions in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition.

Manu Bhaker, another Tokyo Olympics quota winner, clinched the junior mixed team pistol event partnering Sarabjot Singh, thereby winning her seventh gold of the Nationals.

She had claimed four gold medals on Tuesday, sweeping the senior and junior individual and team events in 10m air pistol titles.

Moudgil was in top form throughout the day, topping qualification with 1172, way ahead of the field where Raj Chaudhary of Haryana came second with 1164. She then shot 449.9 in the finals to claim gold, leaving Tamil Nadu’s N Gaayathri a clear 2.6 behind for silver.

Nishchal of Haryana won bronze in the women’s 3P while also winning the junior women’s 3P title with a 451.9 in the junior final. Moudgil also won the team gold in the category for Punjab.

In the 10m air pistol mixed team events, the Haryana duo of Abhishek Verma and Yashaswini Deswal overcame Maharashtra’s Harshada Nithave and Aniket 16-10 in the final.

Manu Bhaker and Sarabjot were 16-8 winners over Punjab’s Khushseerat and Arshdeep Banga in the junior final.