Amanpreet Singh Strikes 25m Centre Fire Gold In Asian Championship As India Finish With...

India’s pistol ace Amanpreet Singh won the biggest medal of his career, securing gold in the 25m centre fire event. This victory marked a clean sweep for India on the final day of the Asian Championship. Amanpreet, 38, achieved a score of 589 to claim gold, narrowly beating his compatriot and Olympian Gurpreet Singh, who scored 584 to take silver. Ankur Goel completed the podium with a bronze, scoring 570.

In the team event, the Indian trio dominated, amassing 1743 points to win the gold, while Vietnam took silver with 1671 points.

India concluded the championship in style, earning seven medals on the final day and finishing with a total of 33 medals in the senior rifle and pistol events: 13 gold, 11 silver, and nine bronze.

Indian shooter Sift

Kaur Samra put in a stellar performance in the women’s 50m rifle prone event, securing a silver medal after a close competition. Veteran shooter Tejaswini Sawant also impressed, winning bronze and achieving a double podium finish for India. Kazakhstan’s Yelizaveta Bezrukova took gold with a strong performance.

Samra, 24, an ISSF World Cup and Asian Championship gold medallist in the 50m rifle 3-positions event, scored 623.2, missing the gold by just 0.2 points to Bezrukova’s 623.4. Olympian Sawant, 45, a former world champion, won bronze with 621.0, marking her first podium finish since the 2021 World Cup in New Delhi.

The Indian team of Samra, Sawant, and Jaipur’s Manini Kaushik claimed team gold with a total of 1862.9 points, narrowly beating Kazakhstan by 0.1 point.

In the junior prone category, India’s Dhavalika Devi secured bronze in the women’s 50m rifle event, with Kazakhstan taking the top two spots. Dhavalika scored 614.1, while Tomiris Amanova and Darya Ponomarenko scored 620.1 and 615.4 respectively.

Indian shooter Khwaish Sharma, competing in the RPO (Ranking Points Only) category, scored 618.1, finishing third. However, she was ineligible for a medal as RPO competitors cannot compete for podium finishes. Khwaish, from Fatehpur Shekhawati in Rajasthan, described her achievement as a dream beginning to her global journey, crediting her coach Monika Jakhar and her family’s support.

The junior women’s prone team, consisting of Dhavalika, Prachi Gaikwad, and Anushka Thokur, won gold with a total score of 1835.6, followed by Kazakhstan with 1834.6.

(With Inputs From Agencies)