Shiva strikes gold in air pistol

Shiva Narwal lent a touch of class to the shooting competition in the Khelo India Youth Games as he rose spectacularly to clinch the gold medal in air pistol at the Karni Singh Range on Monday.

After dominating the qualification phase with a world class 588, five points better than that of the eventual silver medallist and Haryana teammate Samrat Rana, Shiva overcame a sedate start in the second stage of qualification.

It may be noted that Shiva had won the junior team gold, along with Naveen and Sarabjot Singh, in the World Championship in Lima,, last year.

Interestingly, the top three in the first stage of qualification ended up bagging the medals in the same order.

Jumps to the lead

From trailing in the sixth place in the eight-member field, Shiva jumped to the lead to qualify for the gold match. He was dominant at 12-4 in the climax, before Samrat caught up to 12-10 with better shots. Shiva affixed his final stamp of authority with two better shots than his rival to prevail 16-10.

Sahil who had started well, eventually settled for the bronze medal ahead of Mukesh Nelavalli, Aditya Chaudhary, Parmod, Sagar Bhargava and Varun Dubey.

The youth women’s competition is expected to be equally spectacular on Tuesday owing to the presence of Rhythm Sangwan, Palak Ghulia and Shikha Narwal.

The results: Youth men’s air pistol: 1. Shiva Narwal 16 (250.5) 588; 2. Samrat Rana 10 (249.6) 583; 3. Sahil 247.2 (580).