World Championship silver medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar delivered a landmark performance at the 68th National Shooting Championships on Tuesday, smashing a world record score of 470.5 to win the men’s 50m rifle three positions (3P) gold at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Range.
Aishwary’s score was 1.6 points higher than the existing world record, underlining his dominance in the final. He was clinical throughout the competition, having earlier topped the qualification round by equalling his own national record score of 597, a mark he first achieved at the recently concluded ISSF World Cup Final in Doha.
Navy shooter Niraj Kumar claimed the silver medal with a score of 463.7, while Uttar Pradesh’s Akhil Sheoran secured the bronze with 451.8.
Defending national champion Kiran Ankush Jadhav finished fourth with 440.0, followed by Paris Olympic bronze medallist Swapnil Suresh Kusale with 429.7, and teammate Arjun Babuta in sixth with 414.9. Monu Kumar (403.2) and Manvendra Singh Shekhawat (401.6) completed the final lineup.
Qualification Round Highlights
In qualification, Swapnil Kusale (594-33x) finished second behind Aishwary, followed by Arjun Babuta (594-32x). Manvendra Singh Shekhawat (591-31x) placed fourth.
Akhil Sheoran and Niraj Kumar both shot 589, finishing fifth and sixth on inner 10s. Monu Kumar (589-28x) placed seventh, while Kiran Ankush Jadhav (588-32x) secured the eighth and final qualifying spot.
Gurjoat Singh Wins Skeet Gold In Delhi
In simultaneous shotgun action at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, Gurjoat Singh produced a composed display to win men’s skeet gold with 55 hits, edging out nine-time national champion and Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan, who settled for silver with 54 hits.
This marked Mairaj’s 26th podium finish at the National Shooting Championship Competitions. He had earlier topped the qualification round with 122 hits, finishing level with Parampal Singh Guron before securing first place via a shootout.
Harmehar Singh Lally won the bronze in the senior category with 43 hits and later claimed gold in the junior skeet final. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa finished fourth, followed by Parampal Singh Guron and Jyotiraditya Singh Sisodiya.
Junior And Team Event Results
In the junior men’s 50m 3P final, Rohit Kanyan clinched gold with 457.4, while Adriyan Karmakar took silver with 455.5. Vedant Nitin Waghmare won bronze with 443.0.
In the men’s team 50m 3P, Railways secured gold with a combined score of 1764-90x, led by Swapnil Kusale, Arjun Babuta, and Shahu Tushar Mane. Navy claimed silver, while the Army Marksmanship Unit took bronze.
The junior men’s team 50m 3P title went to Rajasthan with 1748-77x, ahead of Maharashtra and Haryana.
Skeet Team Events
In the men’s skeet team event, Punjab won gold with a total score of 358, followed by Madhya Pradesh and the Army Marksmanship Unit.
Punjab also topped the junior skeet team category, while the Army Marksmanship Unit claimed silver and Madhya Pradesh secured bronze.