Kazakhstan’s Sofiya Shulzhenko stole the spotlight on day seven of the Asian Championship Rifle/Pistol, rewriting the record books with a stunning performance in the women’s 50m rifle three positions (3P) event at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range here.
Shulzhenko clinched gold with a world-record score of 358.2 in the 35-shot final, finishing a commanding four points ahead of India’s Aakriti Dahiya, who claimed silver. India’s Anjum Moudgil completed the podium with bronze, scoring 340.4. The Kazakh shooter’s effort did not just secure the top prize, it also established new world junior, Asian and Asian junior records.
India struck back in the junior women’s 3P final, where Prachi Gaikwad emerged on top with a winning score of 353.3. Fourteen-year-old Tomiris Amanova of Kazakhstan took silver with 351.4, while India’s Anushka Thokur added to the hosts’ medal haul by finishing third on 341.1 after 34 shots.
Prachi, Anushka and Hazel combined to deliver team gold for India in the junior women’s 3P, posting a total of 1748 to finish seven points clear of Kazakhstan. In the senior women’s team event, however, Kazakhstan edged India by four points to secure gold with an aggregate score of 1760.
In qualification, Paris Olympian Arina Malinovskaya led the women’s 3P field with a score of 588 across the kneeling, prone and standing stages. Anjum Moudgil followed closely with 587, while Shulzhenko also shot 587 to qualify third. Ashi Chouksey finished fourth with 586 and Aakriti Dahiya squeezed into the final in sixth with 583.
The final began with the Indian trio asserting early control during the kneeling stage, with Aakriti holding the lead. Shulzhenko surged during the prone section to move into contention before producing a decisive standing performance, becoming the only shooter to cross 50 points in both five-shot series. From there, she steadily pulled away as her rivals dropped back.
Elsewhere, India’s Adarsh Singh made a strong start in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol, topping the precision round with an impressive 291 out of 300. Anish Bhanwala remained in the hunt with 287, while Neeraj Kumar’s 277 left him with ground to make up in the second rapid-fire round scheduled for Wednesday, February 11, ahead of the final.
With seven days completed, India continue to dominate the overall standings, amassing 39 gold, 15 silver and 12 bronze medals to comfortably lead the medal table.