Bhopal, Apr 15 (PTI) Pankaj Mukheja clinched the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions title, while Haryana shooter duo of Nancy and Rhythm Sangwan finished at the top in women’s 10m air rifle and 25m pistol events respectively in the national selection trials here on Friday.

The 21-year-old Pankaj overcame Paris Olympics quota winner Swapnil Kusale 16-12 in a tight contest.

This was after local hope and India number Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar had logged a field-topping 591 in qualifications.

Aishwary, however, fell just short of making it to the gold medal clash, shooting 407.4 in the ranking round to finish behind Swapnil who shot 408 at the MP State Shooting Academy Range here. Pankaj, with 413.7, was way clear at the top.

In women’s 10m air rifle, Nancy got the better of West Bengal’s Mehuli Ghosh 16-10 on day three of the Group A national selection trials.

Mehuli will be happy with her qualification round score of 633.8 which was the leading score in the 42-strong field. Shreya Agrawal was third for hosts Madhya Pradesh (M.P), after finishing the ranking round with 261.6.

Rhythm Sangwan continued her brilliant form, clinching the women’s 25m pistol with 32 hits in the medal match. Uttar Pradesh’s Neha was second with 31 hits, while Telangana’s Esha Singh was third with 21 hits to her name.

Among the juniors, Gautami Bhanot of MP continued her good form, clinching the women’s 10m air rifle T3 trials. She had won in Korea last year and clinched gold at the Khelo India Youth Games at the same venue.

Delhi’s Naamya Kapoor won the junior women’s 25m pistol while her compatriot Shivam Dabas clinched the junior men’s 50m rifle 3 positions title.

Source: PTI News