Mane, Sakshi better national record scores in air rifle trials

Maharashtra’s Sakshi Sunil Padekar and Railways’ Shahu Tushar Mane bettered national record scores in the finals and qualification rounds of the 10m air rifle women and men events respectively at the national selection trials 1 and 2 (Group A) on Friday. Sakshi shot 254.3 in the T2 final while Shahu Tushar Mane scored 637.1 in the qualification. Both these scores are better than the national record but they will not enter the official record books. Olympian Arjun Babuta won the men’s T2 final in 10m air rifle, while Sakshi claimed the women’s 10m air rifle T2 final.

Olympian Rahi Sarnobat claimed the T2 final of women’s 25m pistol. Sakshi dominates  Maharashtra’s Sakshi produced a commanding performance in the women’s 10m air rifle Trial 2, staying firmly in control from qualification through to the final.  Padekar topped the qualification round with an impressive 634.4 before backing it up with a superb 254.3 in the final, better than the existing national record score, set by Elavenil Valarivan in the Asian Shooting Championship last year, to seal first place in emphatic fashion.

Kerala’s Vidarsa K Vinod shot 252.0 in the final to finish second, while world championship bronze medallist Elavenil Valarivan, who was second in qualification with 633.4, claimed third place with a final score of 231.4. Uttar Pradesh’s Khyati Chaudhary narrowly missed out on the podium, finishing fourth with 209.7, while Delhi’s Rajshree Anilkumar Sancheti ended the final in fifth place with 188.6.