Manisha Keer and Bhowneesh Mendiratta shine in shotgun trials

Manisha Keer and Bhowneesh Mendiratta claimed top spots in the Shotgun National Selection Trials at Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range. Manisha edged Neeru Dhanda in women’s trap, while Bhowneesh beat Prithviraj Tondaiman in men’s finals. Juniors Zuhair and Sabeera also impressed

Hyderabad: Manisha Keer and Bhowneesh Mendiratta secured top spots in the women’s and men’s Trap T1 respectively in the Shotgun National Selection Trials 1 & 2 held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in Delhi on Wednesday.

In the women’s finals, Manisha hit 27 targets to edge past Neeru Dhanda, who finished with 25 hits. Aashima Ahlawat finished third with 20 hits.

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Kirti Gupta topped qualification with a score of 118 but finished seventh in the final, while Rajeshwari Kumari and Aashima Ahlawat hit 114. They were followed by Preeti Rajak with 113, Manisha Keer with 110, Neeru Dhanda (109), Varsha Varman (107) and Shagun Chowdhary (106) to complete the top eight.

Bhowneesh edged past Prithviraj Tondaiman 28-27 to secure top spot in the men’s finals. World Cup Final 2024 medallist Vivaan Kapoor secured third place with 23 hits.

Earlier in qualification, Kynan Chenai topped with 122, followed by Prithviraj (120). Vivaan and Ahvar Rizvi scored 119 each, while Bhowneesh, Arshad Hasan Khan, Ali Aman Elahi and Udaivir Singh Jaijee scored 118 to complete the top eight. World Championship bronze medallist Zoravar Singh Sandhu also hit 118 but missed out due to cut back.

In the junior men’s finals, Zuhair Khan scored 27 to finish on top with a three-hit lead over Lakshya Atree (23). Navjeet Bishnoi secured third place with 18. Manitwa Singh Rawat topped qualification with 120 but finished eighth. Vinay Pratap Singh (118), Zuhair Khan (117), Udhav Singh Rathore and Arjun (114 each), Lakshya Atree and Syed Ahyaan Ali (113 each), and Navjeet Bishnoi (112) completed the top eight.

World Cup mixed team medallist Sabeera Haris topped the women’s junior finals, edging past Addya Katyal 25-24. Addya had topped qualification with 114. Ishika Bhardwaj finished third with 19 after scoring 103 in qualification. Sabeera qualified second with 112, followed by Darshna Rathore (111), Bhavya Tripathi (109), Tanisska Senthilkumar (108), Tanisha Singh Chandrawat (104) and Nilaa Rajaa Baalu (103).