Chaudhary, Elavenil shine in European Championship

Osijek (Croatia): World No. 1 in women’s 10m air rifle, Elavenil Valarivan, and world No. 2 in men’s 10m air pistol, Saurabh Chaudhary, put up a strong show in the European Shooting Championship here today. As many as 10 members of the 13-strong Indian Olympics-bound rifle and pistol shooting squad got their first taste of competition during their ongoing training-cum-competition tour of Croatia.

Shooting in the Minimum Qualification Score section, Chaudhary outperformed the tournament’s topper in the men’s 10m air pistol event. World Cup and Asian Games gold medallist Chaudhary shot 589, while compatriot Abhishek Verma shot 579. Ukraine’s Oleh Omelchuk topped qualification with 586.

In the women’s 10m air rifle event, world No. 1 Elavenil Valarivan shot 630.4, Apurvi Chandela shot 627.8 and Anjum Moudgil shot 624.7. Ziva Dvorsak of Slovenia topped qualification with 630.8. Divyansh Singh Panwar (628.10) was the best Indian in the men’s 10m air rifle event. Deepak Kumar shot 627.4, while Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar shot 625.0. Russia’s Vladimir Maslennikov topped qualification with 631.8.

In the women’s 10m air pistol event, world No. 1 Yashaswini Singh Deswal and No. 2 Manu Bhaker shot 572 and 573, respectively. The Indians’ scores were not considered for medals.

Hussamuddin gives India winning start

Dubai: India were off to a confident start at the Asian Boxing Championships with Mohammed Hussamuddin (56kg) beating Kazakhstan’s Makhmud Sabyrkhan in his opening bout to enter the quarterfinals. Hussamuddin prevailed 5-0 against the 19-year-old two-time Asian youth champion. He will next face reigning world and Asian Games champion Mirazizbek Mirzahalilov, who is also the defending champion. pti