Niraj Kumar aces Men’s 50M Rifle 3 Positions T3 trials

New Delhi: The Indian Navy’s Niraj Kumar, aced the Men’s 50M Rifle Positions (3P) T3 trials at New Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) on Wednesday, getting the better of two Olympians- Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar of Madhya Pradesh (M.P) whom he beat 17-11 in the gold medal match and the seasoned Sanjeev Rajput, who had to settle for bronze.

(L-R): Avinash Yadav, Surya Pratap Singh Banshtu, Pankaj Mukheja.

On competition day six of the National Selection Trial 3 & 4, Niraj was up against it in a strong field of 94 and made it through to the final stages with a 584/600 in qualifying, which was enough to give him fourth place. Sanjeev Rajput topped the qualifiers field with a 588, including a perfect 200/200 in the first Kneeling position and a 199/200 in the Prone position.

In the top eight-stage, Niraj finished second with a score of 404.7, narrowly edging out Rajput, who managed 404.3. Aishwary topped this stage with a 407.9.

In the Junior Men’s 3P T3 competition, Himachal’s Surya Pratap Singh Banshtu won gold with a 16-12 victory over M. P’s Avinash Yadav.

Rudrankksh double

Earlier on Tuesday, day five of the National Shooting Trials, Maharashtra’s Rudrankksh Patil recorded a rare double, winning both the Men’s and Junior Men’s 10M Air Rifle T4 competition.

Rudrankksh got the better of former state-mate and current Railwayman Shahu Mane with a favourable 17-11 result in the Men’s gold medal encounter, while beating Rajasthan’s Yash Vardhan 17-13 in the Junior Men’s final.