World champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu was a class act as he defended the trap gold, literally unchallenged, in the Sahara 54th National shooting championship at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Friday.
Going into the final, tied with a total of 121 with the seasoned Mansher Singh, Sandhu shot ahead effortlessly and was close to being flawless in the single-shot competition.
While Sandhu shot 21 of the 25 flash birds in the final, Mansher could muster only 16, and eventually lost the tie-shoot for the bronze to another experienced shooter, Anwer Sultan. The young Kynan Chenai, who won the National junior title for the fourth time, did his confidence a world of good, as he matched Sandhu in the final with a score of 21 that fetched him the silver, three points behind the champion.
Anwer Sultan was able to defend the bronze he won last year, as he shot the first bird in the tie-shoot after Mansher Singh had missed his chance. In fact, Mansher struggled in the final, and had missed as many as five in the first 10.
Last year's silver medallist, Anirudh Singh was in the third place after qualification with 118, as he shot 49 in the morning in the last two rounds of qualification, the same score as Chenai, but was only able to match Mansher in shooting 16 in the final.
It was a hat-trick of titles for Seema Tomar of the Army in the women's section as she came up with an impressive performance in the final with a score of 21, to stretch her lead to four points against the silver-medallist Shagun Chaudhary. Haryana's Snehlata Singh, a left-hander, was able to pip national record holder Shreyasi Singh for the bronze.
The results: Trap: Men: 1. Manavjit Singh Sandhu 142 (121); 2. Kynan Chenai 139 (118); 3. Anwer Sultan 137 (117).
Team: 1. Punjab 354; 2. Uttar Pradesh 339; 3. Andhra Pradesh 326.
Junior men: 1. Kynan Chenai 118; 2. Rayyan Rizvi 110; 3. Ankur Mittal 105.
Women: 1. Seema Tomar 89 (68); 2. Shagun Chaudhary 85 (65); 3. Snehlata Singh 79 (62).
Junior women: 1. Shreyasi Singh 60; 2. Asiya F. Khilji 49; 3. Varsha Varman 42.
