Returning to competition after a six-month hiatus, Paris Olympics double bronze medalist Manu Bhaker has kicked off the season impressively by leading the qualification for the 25m sports pistol in the first selection trials, and maintaining her lead in the second trials (T2) after the precision round at the Karni Singh Range on Tuesday. Manu scored an outstanding 297 out of 300 in the precision round. The quick round and the finale are scheduled for Wednesday.
In the initial selection trials, Manu achieved a score of 587 to lead the competition. In the final on Monday, she bounced back from a slow beginning to secure a bronze medal, finishing behind winner Simranpreet Kaur and runner-up Esha Singh, who is participating in her first event since the Paris Olympics.
Manu will compete in the 10m air pistol trials — the event where she secured two bronze medals in Paris.
The squads for the consecutive ISSF World Cups in Argentina and Peru in April will be determined by the results of the two selection tests. The key highlight of the year will be the ISSF World Championships in November. 2022 World Champion Rudrankksh Patil, in the 10m air rifle event, and Asian Games champion Sift Kaur Samra, in women’s rifle three positions, have displayed exceptional performance in these trials.
They secured consecutive victories in the selection trials. Rudrankksh, who just fell short of qualifying for Paris, placed second in the qualifications with a score of 633.0 in the second trials, but only by countback ahead of Hriday Hazarika from Assam. In the final, Rudrankksh scored 253.3 to secure first place, while Hazarika claimed the silver medal.
Previously, Rudrankksh finished first in qualification (T1) with a score of 633.3, outpacing Paris Olympian Arjun Babuta, and then defeated him in the final by scoring an impressive 254.9 points. Sift, having secured gold at the National Games, has maintained her impressive performance. She topped the qualifications (T2) with an impressive score of 595 and clinched the final with a commanding score of 469.8 — 0.2 above her own world record set during the Asian Games.
In the initial qualification, Sift achieved seventh place with a score of 589. Odisha’s Shriyanka Sadangi achieved the top position with an impressive score of 594. In the finals, however, Sift significantly outperformed the competition (465.6) to secure first place. Haryana’s Himani Poonia placed second, trailing by 2.3 points, while experienced Anjum Moudgil secured third.
In the women’s 10m air rifle event, Sonam Uttam Maskar claimed victory in the T1 final (253.3 pts) after finishing first in the qualification round (633.9 pts). In the 25m rapid fire event, Army marksman Neeraj Kumar shocked Paris Olympics participants Anish Bhanwala and Vijayveer Sidhu to secure the victory in the final (34 hits). Anish, who secured first place in qualification (590 pts), ended up second in the final. Anish secured victory in the initial trial (T1) on Sunday.
