Akash bags gold, Sanjeev silver in shooting

Uttar Pradesh shooter Akash bagged the gold medal in mixed 50m pistol SH1 category at the Khelo India Para Games here on Tuesday.

The shooting competition came to an end with Rajasthan topping the medal tally with nine medals that included four gold and two silver.

Uttar Pradesh (four medals with two gold) and Maharashtra (three medals with two gold) finished second and third respectively.

With two days of competition left in this edition of KIPG, 166 gold medals have been decided by the end of day six.

Haryana (95 medals with 30 gold) have a healthy lead over Tamil Nadu (67 with 25 gold) and Uttar Pradesh (54 medals with 22 gold).

Paris Paralympian Rudransh Khandelwal of Rajasthan, who had earlier claimed gold in the men’s 10m air pistol SH1, suffered loss on Tuesday after his pistol malfunctioned at a critical juncture of the finals.

It gave Tokyo Paralympian Akash a clear advantage and the UP shooter pipped Tamil Nadu’s Sanjeev for the gold.

Akash maintained his cool and scored 15.7 in his final two shots to maintain a lead by 0.2 to take the top spot.

Speaking after the win, Akash, who hails from Khedki village in Baghpat, Uttar Pradesh, said that he was focused on his own game and is elated to win the gold medal. “I am happy to win the gold medal here at Khelo India Para Games. This is the first major step for me as I begin my journey towards Paralympics 2028 in Los Angeles and winning gold here will boost my confidence,” he said.

“Khelo India Para Games has given us a new lease of life like ‘sanjeevani booti’. We are getting motivated and have a chance to develop. People are also recognising us as it is being broadcast live.”

Meanwhile, Khandelwal, who settled for a bronze, expressed satisfaction with his overall performance.

In table tennis, seven-time national champion Shubham Wadhwa of Punjab advanced to the next round after beating Karnataka’s Jaganath HM in straight sets.