Avinash Yadav came out of obscurity to deliver the knock-out punch on the last shot against one of the emerging force in Indian shooting, Divyansh Singh Panwar, for a thrilling 0.2 victory in the men’s under-17 air rifle event in the Khelo India Youth Games at the Balewadi Complex on Friday.
On a day when Dhanush Srikanth of Telangana, who is groomed by Gun For Glory, had clinched the under-21 gold, with a dominant performance from start to end, Avinash stole the thunder from everyone.
Having qualified with 618.8, a clear 11.1 point behind leader Yash Vardhan, who eventually took the bronze, Avinash did not draw much attention.
However, in the final, he stayed close to Divyansh Singh Panwar of Rajasthan, a shooter of exceptional ability, all set to make the National team for the World Cup in New Delhi next month.
Divyansh had a 0.7 point lead before the last two shots that decided the gold. While Divyansh faltered with a 9.7, Avinash knocked off the deficit with 10.4. Tied before the last shot, Avinash shot quick for a 10.4 to pip Divyansh whose patient effort only fetched a 10.2.
Yash Vardhan had squeezed his way to the bronze, by 0.1 point ahead of Keval Prajapati who earlier had to win a shoot-off to progress past Vishnu Shivaraj Pandian.
In comparison, Dhanush Srikanth who is hard of hearing and speech, shot like a monk, for an all-10 sequence of 24 shots in the final. “I wanted to shoot 10.7 every shot,’’ conveyed Dhanush, through his mind trainer Kirtika Pandey.
Dhanush, who is coached by Neha Chavan, and a second degree Dan in taekwondo, was really energetic with his approach and stayed focused on the technique, in delivering 84 classy shots through the day. He nearly had a 10.5 average in qualification.
Meanwhile, in men’s trap, Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran led with 74 out of 75 at the half way stage.
The results: 10m air rifle: Under-21 men: 1. Dhanush Srikanth 248.9 (629.7); 2. Yash Yogeshwar Padloskar 247.6 (621.8); 3. Arjun Babuta (Pun) 225.6 (623.8).
Under-17 men: 1. Avinash Yadav 250.9 (618.8); 2. Divyansh Singh Panwar 250.7 (627.9); 3. Yash Vardhan 228.1 (629.9) .
