Senior men’s 3-Positions (3P) rifle shooter and double Olympian Sanjeev Rajput showed good form, shooting competitively for the first time since the coronavirus-induced lockdown, to win the 50m Rifle 3P T1 trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting range in the national capital.
Sanjeev, who will have his eyes set on the Tokyo Olympics later this year having secured a quota, shot a high 1181 in qualifying to top the 19-man field. He was clear two points ahead of second-placed youngster Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who will most probably be partnering him in Tokyo.
In the finals too, the senior pro was given a good fight by another youngster Swapnil Kusale, before decisively pulling away with a superb 10.6 for his first standing position shot, to Swapnil’s 9.7. He did not look back and finished top with 459.9 to Swapnil’s 459.1. Akhil Sheoran finished third with 445.6.
Young Abhay Singh Sekhon of Punjab was also in the splendid nick, winning both the men’s and junior men’s Skeet T1 trials at the shotgun ranges. In women’s Skeet, Ganemat Sekhon outclassed a field of 13 to win while the junior T1 Skeet trials were bagged by Raiza Dhillon.
In men’s Skeet, it was Gurjoat Singh, the overnight leader, who topped the qualification round with a score of 121, while Abhay Sekhon came in behind him with a 120. In the finals, however, Abhay shot 56 out of 60 to win. Madhya Pradesh’s Arjun Thakur came in second with 52 while Gurjoat finished outside the medals.
In the junior men’s Skeet, it was Rajveer Singh Gill with 53 who finished behind Abhay.
Ganemat Sekhon was a class apart in women’s Skeet. She also like Rajput in 3P, topped qualifying with a 120, which was a huge six points ahead of second place. In the finals too, her winning score of 55, was a clear four points ahead of second finishing Zahra Deesawala.
Raiza Dhillon shot 51 in the Junior Women’s Skeet T1 finals to get the better of Areeba Khan who shot 49.
