Ananya bags maiden senior air rifle gold

Maharashtra’s Ananya Naidu won her maiden senior women’s 10m air rifle gold medal after staving off a late charge from Meghana Sajjanar. Naidu stood top of the podium after totalling 252.5 in the finals of the ongoing 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions in Bhopal on Tuesday.

Naidu’s final tally was a mere 0.2 more than the more experienced Sajjanar, who was representing the Railways. The bronze medal was won by Tamil Nadu’s Narmada Nithin, who finished with a score of 231.3 points.

In the final, Naidu led the field with 1.4 points after the first five shots but while she led the 24-shot final, it became a close fight between her and Sajjanar during the final stages. Both Naidu and Sajjanar tallied 20.6 points in the last two shots.

In the junior women’s competition, Gautami Bhanot won the gold medal with a score of 251.5 points followed by Mayuri Pawar. They were both tied at 168.0 points at one stage in the final but Gautami edged with a score of 21.6 in the next two shots to Mayuri’s 20.5 to regain the lead. The bronze was won by Disha Dhankar after she tallied 229.9 points.