New Delhi, Feb 8 (PTI) Olympians Elavenil Valarivan and Arjun Babuta proved an unstoppable pair, clinching the 10m air rifle mixed team gold with a flawless display as Indian shooters continued their dominance at the Asian Championship (Rifle/Pistol) on Sunday.
Riding India’s winning wave, Himanshu Dhillon and Shambhavi Kshirsagar clinched the junior category gold in the same event at the Karni Singh Ranges.
Elavenil, fresh off her gold in the women’s air rifle on Saturday, fired 253.4 from 24 shots in the four-team final, while Babuta recovered from a shaky start in the medal round to finish strongly with 251.6, sealing their gold.
Elavenil and Babuta’s combined 505.0 gave them a clear four-point edge over South Korea’s Eunji Kwon and Kim Woorim,
who claimed silver with 501.0, while Japan’s Misaki Nobata and Naoya Okada rounded out the podium with 437.1 for bronze.
The Indian duo had also stamped their authority in the qualification round, finishing on top with a commanding aggregate of 632.8.
Himanshu and Shambhavi added a mixed team gold to their individual triumphs on Saturday, cruising through the final to post a commanding aggregate of 502.4, which was an Asian Junior Record.
Dominating the final, the Indian duo ended a commanding 13.8 points clear of Kazakhstan’s Alina Satpayeva and Tamerlan Kabulov (488.6) to take gold, with Eeasha Shaheed and Maaidh Mohamed of the Maldives rounding out the podium with bronze.
Rio Olympian Gurpreet Singh clinched the 25m standard pistol gold, leading a complete Indian sweep of the podium as Harsh Gupta took silver and Amanpreet Singh claimed bronze.
Indian shooters continued their dominance in the event, with Suraj Sharma, Mukesh Nelavalli, and Tanishq Muralidhar Naidu sweeping the medals in that order. Both the senior and junior teams also claimed gold in their respective categories, underlining India’s sweeping success.
On Sunday, the precision stage of the 25m pistol wrapped up, with Esha Singh taking the lead at 295 and Manu Bhaker close behind on 291.
Rhythm Sangwan, India’s third competitor, sits 13th with 285. All eyes now turn to Monday’s rapid-fire stage and finals. PTI AM AM AH AH
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