Golden boy

Bhopal, December 29

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Chandigarh’s Vijayveer Sidhu claimed the individual gold medal in the men’s 25m standard pistol event of the National Shooting Championship here today.

Vijayveer shot 580 to win the top prize. He was followed by Gurpreet Singh (578) and brother Udhayveer Sidhu (574) in second and third places, respectively.

Vijayveer (580) also stood atop the podium in the junior section ahead of Udhayveer (574) and Harsh Gupta (572). The 17-year-old combined with Udhayveer and Unish Holinder (1699) to win the team gold in junior.

The Army Marksman Unit’s (AMU) team of Gurpreet, Neeraj Kumar and Gurmeet bagged the team gold medal in the senior 25m standard pistol event with a score of 1707 ahead of Chandigarh’s Vijayveer, Udhayveer and Holinder Kumar (1693) and Haryana’s Adarsh Singh, Mandeep Singh and Anish (1689).

In the men’s 50m pistol event, Sib Kumar Ghosh of Border Security Force won the individual gold, while World Championship silver medallist Jitu Rai won the team gold.

Sensational Vijayveer

It has been a sensational year for city shooter Vijayveer Sidhu. Vijayveer began the year with the silver medal in the men’s U-21 category of the 10m air pistol event at the Khelo India Games in January. In July, Vijayveer won three gold medals at the ISSF Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany. He also became the junior world champion in 25m standard pistol. Then he won the 25m standard pistol team event at the Asian Shooting Championships in Doha in November. And now, he has struck gold again. Vijayveer won gold medals in the senior, junior and team categories of the men’s 25m standard pistol event in the National Shooting Championship

Coach DS Chandel said, “It has been a phenomenal year for Vijayveer. He shifted from the air pistol category to standard pistol and had to face many hurdles in the process. But his consistent performances have helped him overcome the tough period. I am sure he will do well in the rapid fire section in the coming days. The support he has got from the government in the form of ammunition and training facilities after winning in the Khelo India Games has really helped him transform into the senior-level shooter.”

Udhayveer Sidhu won the gold in the men’s U-17 category of the 10m air pistol event in the Khelo India Games this year. The twin brothers have a unique distinction of being world champions in different categories. While Udhayveer is the world junior champion in sports pistol, Vijayveer is the world junior champion in standard pistol. — TNS/PTI

Jai singh sodhi shines

Jai Singh Sodhi (in pic), a student of the Learning Paths School, Mohali, won three medals, including an individual bronze, in the 63rd National Shooting Championship. Sodhi won the bronze medal in the 25m rapid fire pistol and was also a part of the gold medal winning team. He picked his third medal — team silver — in the 25m sports pistol.