Daijiworld Media Network - Shymkent
Shymkent, Aug 26: India’s Sift Kaur Samra delivered a standout performance at the Asian Shooting Championships, clinching gold in both the individual and team events of the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions competition on Tuesday.
Sift shot an impressive 459.2 in the final to secure the top podium finish, narrowly edging past China’s Yujie Yang, who scored 458.8. Japan’s Misaki Nobata took the bronze with 448.2. Fellow Indian shooter Ashi Chouksey, who also made it to the eight-woman final, finished seventh with 402.8.
Earlier in the qualification round, Sift and Ashi had ranked second and fifth, respectively, but advanced to the final as first and fourth due to compatriot Shriyanka Sadangi—who topped the qualifiers—competing under the ‘Ranking Points Only’ (RPO) category.
Teaming up with Anjum Moudgil, Sift and Ashi also bagged the gold medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions team event. The trio registered a combined score of 1753, with Sift scoring 589, Ashi 586, and Anjum 578. India edged out Japan (1750) and South Korea (1745) to take the team title.
On Monday, Neeru Dhanda added to India’s golden tally by winning the women’s individual trap event and teaming up with Aashima Ahlawat and Preeti Rajak to secure the team gold in the same discipline.
In the men’s trap final, Bhowneesh Mendiratta earned a silver medal with a score of 45, finishing just two points behind China’s Qi Ying. Chen Pengyu, also of China, took the bronze.
Meanwhile, two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker narrowly missed out on an individual medal, finishing fourth in the women’s 25m pistol final. However, she joined forces with Esha Singh and Simranpreet Kaur Brar to win a team bronze, with India’s score of 1749 placing them behind China and South Korea.
India has so far collected 19 medals in the senior category at the championships: nine gold, three silver, and seven bronze. Overall, the nation leads the medal standings with 31 gold, 11 silver, and 14 bronze across all categories.
The Indian senior team features 35 shooters competing in 15 events, while 129 junior athletes are also participating in the Shymkent meet.