Ajay Kumar wins gold, Jonathan Antony completes treble at National Shooting Championship

Army’s Ajay Kumar won gold in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final, while Karnataka’s Jonathan Gavin Antony completed a rare treble across Sub-Youth, Youth and Junior events. Tamil Nadu swept both Senior and Junior Trap Mixed Team titles at the National Shooting Championship

Hyderabad: Army’s Ajay Kumar and Karnataka’s Jonathan Gavin Antony headlined an action-packed day at the 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions, with Ajay claiming the gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final after a closely fought contest, while Jonathan capped a standout campaign by completing a rare Sub-Youth, Youth and Junior treble in men’s air pistol events, at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on Saturday.

Meanwhile, at the shotgun ranges, Tamil Nadu continued their strong run by sweeping both the Senior and Junior Trap Mixed Team titles.

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Ajay Kumar of the Army delivered a composed performance to win the gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final. Ajay finished on top with a score of 241.1, edging out Railways’ Shubham Bisla, who settled for silver with 240.1 after a close final. Haryana’s Anmol Jain secured the bronze medal with 220.0.

Haryana’s Shiva Narwal narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth with 197.2, while Navy shooters Aakash Bhardwaj and Ujjawal Malik placed fifth and sixth with 177.8 and 157.3 respectively. Rahul Serawat of Rajasthan ended seventh on 136.6, and Punjab’s Arjun Singh Cheema completed the final line-up in eighth place with 115.8.

At the shotgun range, Tamil Nadu edged past Madhya Pradesh to clinch the title with a score of 36-35 in the Senior Trap Mixed Team gold medal match. Olympian R Prithviraj Tondaiman led the charge for Tamil Nadu with 19 hits, supported by Nilaa Rajaa Baalu, who contributed 17 hits.

National Women’s Trap champion Neeru Dhanda and Arshad Hasan Khan fought hard with 20 and 15 hits respectively but had to settle for silver. The bronze medal went to Rajasthan, who defeated Haryana 42-37, courtesy of Vivaan Kapoor’s 25 hits and Manvi Soni’s 17, while Haryana’s Bhowneesh Mendiretta and Aashima Ahlawat scored 20 and 17 respectively.

In the Junior Trap Mixed Team gold medal match, Tamil Nadu once again claimed the national championship after defeating Haryana 39-35. Yugan SM starred for Tamil Nadu with 22 hits, while Tanisska Senthilkumar added 17. Haryana’s Arjun and Suhanya Singh scored 18 and 17 respectively in a close contest. The bronze medal match saw Uttar Pradesh overcome Rajasthan 41-36, with Zuhair Khan contributing 21 hits and Sabeera Haris adding 20, while Rajasthan’s Vinay Pratap Singh Chandrawat and Darshna Rathore finished with 20 and 16.

The Youth Men’s final saw Jonathan produce a composed performance to top the field with a score of 240.0. Punjab’s Guntajpreet Singh secured the silver medal with 236.0, while Uttar Pradesh’s Savej Khan claimed bronze on 214.3. Harsh Kumar Haldkar of Madhya Pradesh finished fourth with 195.9, followed by Abhay Dhama (174.7), Aryan (152.5), and Jatin Nirwal (125.6), all from Uttar Pradesh.