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.

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.