Maheshwari, Anantjeet win skeet mixed team national title

The duo of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka rounded off a good year by winning the skeet mixed team title for their home state Rajasthan in the National Shooting Championship here on Wednesday.

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In the final played at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, the pair pulled off a tight 44-43 victory over Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Areeba Khan of Uttar Pradesh. Punjab’s Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon won bronze.

Earlier in the day, three 25-shot round totals of 72 and 71 by Maheshwari and Anantjeet respectively, ensured their path to the gold medal match as toppers of the seven-team qualification round.

Three teams -- Ganemat and Abhay and Haryana’s Ishaan Libra and Raiza Dhillon, besides Mairaj and Areeba, finished on the same tally of 141 after which the UP duo won a three-way shoot-off by blasting eight targets on the trot, to earn a right to shoot for gold.

Maheshwari and Anantjeet shot a confident final and were leading throughout the six series of eight birds per team decider, but lapses in concentration and a caution to Maheshwari for overshooting her shot time, made it more closer in the end than it actually was.