GNDU wins shooting inter-university championship

Guru Nanak Dev University (GNDU) shooters once again proved their mettle by winning the overall champions trophy at the All India Inter-University 25 m and 50 m Shooting Championship 2025-26 held at SAS Nagar, Mohali.

The championship witnessed participation from more than 71 university teams from across the country, with nearly 350 shooters competing, making the event highly competitive and prestigious.

During the championship, shooters from Guru Nanak Dev University delivered exceptional performances and secured the Overall General Championship Trophy in both men’s and women’s categories in the 25 metre and 50 metre events.

In the men’s section, Guru Nanak Dev University secured first position, while Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, finished as runners-up and Panjab University, Chandigarh, secured third position. In the women’s category as well, Guru Nanak Dev University emerged as the winner, followed by Panjab University, Chandigarh, in second place and Savitribai Phule Pune University in third place.

One of the major highlights of the championship was the remarkable achievement of international shooter and two-time Olympian Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar, who broke his own national record in the 50 metre prone men’s event, setting a new benchmark in the competition. In addition, the university’s renowned international shooters and Olympians Sift Kaur Samra, Ashi Chouksey and Adriyan Karmakar also delivered commendable performances.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Karamjeet Singh stated that GNDU is steadily emerging as one of the leading institutions in the country in the field of sports. A 25-time winner of the Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy, GNDU has also emerged as India’s shooting powerhouse with its star athletes winning multiple medals at the Asian Shooting Championship 2026 held earlier in February.

The university had drafted a new sports policy last year, introducing the provision of monthly diet money for outstanding sportspersons across various sports disciplines from the academic session 2025-26 onwards. Since last year, more than 300 sportspersons from different games have been benefiting from this scheme.

For the current year, the university has distributed approximately Rs 80 lakh towards diet support for players. Under this scheme, diet money ranging from Rs 3,500 to Rs 10,000 per month is being directly credited to the players’ bank accounts depending on their level of performance and achievements. This financial assistance enables athletes to maintain a balanced and nutritious diet, which is essential for enhancing stamina, strength, recovery and overall sports performance.

Significantly, the university has further strengthened its commitment by allocating Rs 1.5 crore towards diet money for the next academic year, 2026-27, thereby ensuring sustained and enhanced support for sportspersons — a move that Kanwar Mandeep Singh said reflects the university’s approach to nurturing talent and building a robust sports ecosystem within the academic framework.