The opening day of the Rifle/Pistol National Selection Trials 1&2 (Group A) at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range produced strong early performances in the 50m rifle prone events, with Rajasthan’s Manini Kaushik and world championship silver medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar emerging on top of the women’s and men’s fields respectively in Selection Trial 1.
In the women’s 50m rifle prone T1, Manini led a tightly contested field with a total of 625.0. Her score was built on a consistent series of 104.7, 104.2, 102.3, 104.6, 104.2 and a closing 105.0. Karnataka’s Tilottama Sen finished second with 622.6, closely followed by Kerala’s Vidarsa K Vinod on 622.0.
The competition was intense throughout, with minimal margins separating the leading pack. Jharkhand’s Supriya Kumari was placed fourth with 621.7, while reigning national champion Priya of the Army Marksmanship Unit finished fifth on 620.7. Haryana’s Nischal (620.6), Madhya Pradesh’s Ashi Chouksey (620.5) and Punjab’s Sift Kaur Samra (620.4) completed the top eight, with just 0.4 points separating fifth and eighth.
In the men’s 50m rifle prone Trials 1, Aishwary produced a commanding performance to finish first with 629.6. The national champion in 50m rifle 3 Positions set the pace early and maintained control throughout, shooting series of 105.3, 105.4, 105.7, 104.9, 103.7 and 104.6 to open a comfortable 3.2-point gap at the top.
Former world champion Akhil Sheoran claimed second place with 626.4, while reigning national champion Swapnil Kusale finished third on 625.3. Army shooters Nishan Budha (623.8) and Chain Singh (622.9) followed in fourth and fifth positions. Navy’s Nikhil Tanwar (621.9), Army’s Babu Singh Panwar (621.6) and Navy shooter Niraj Kumar (620.6) rounded out the top eight.
In the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol T1, Navy’s Omkar Singh led after Stage 1 of qualification with a score of 295-14x. Rajasthan’s Bhavesh Shekhawat (292-9x) and Uttar Pradesh’s Ankur Goel (291-10x) were placed second and third respectively. World Championship silver medallist Anish Bhanwala was in seventh position with 286-12x. The second stage of qualification and the T1 finals will be held on Thursday.
The finals of the 50m Rifle 3 Positions (T1) for both men and women, along with the T2 finals of the 50m rifle prone events, will be held on Tuesday.