Rajasthan’s Anantjeet Singh Naruka and Darshna Rathore delivered a composed and consistent showing to clinch the Senior Skeet Mixed Team gold medal at the 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions (Shotgun), currently in progress at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range here.
The Rajasthan pair edged past Uttar Pradesh 45-43 in a tightly fought gold medal match. Asian Champion Anantjeet struck 21 targets, while Darshna led the scoring for her team with 24 hits to overcome the Uttar Pradesh combination of Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan (21) and Areeba Khan (22).
Earlier, Rajasthan had topped the qualification round with an aggregate of 143 hits, with Anantjeet contributing 73 and Darshna 70, earning them a direct entry into the final.
Uttar Pradesh reached the title clash after a dramatic qualification stage, where the duo of Mairaj (74) and Areeba (68) tied with Haryana on 142. Uttar Pradesh prevailed 4–3 in the subsequent shoot-off to book their place in the gold medal match.
Haryana went on to secure the bronze medal, as Raiza Dhillon (21) and Ishaan Singh Libra (20) combined for a 41–39 victory over Madhya Pradesh in the third-place playoff. The Madhya Pradesh pairing of Rituraj Bundela (20) and Mansi Raghuwanshi (19) finished fourth.
In the Junior Skeet Mixed Team event, Telangana’s Yuvek Battula and Lakku Venkat Lakshmi emerged champions after both shooters registered 19 hits in the final. Madhya Pradesh put up a strong fight, with Jyotiraditya Sisodiya scoring 17 and Vanshika Tiwari adding 20, but eventually finished just one point adrift.
Punjab claimed the junior bronze medal as Harmehar Singh Lally and Parmeet Kaur combined for 40 hits to edge past Rajasthan’s Yashasvi Rathore and Yashwardhan S Rajawat, who finished with 39.
Earlier in junior qualification, Telangana topped the standings with 141 hits through Yuvek (73) and Venkat Lakshmi (66), while Madhya Pradesh followed closely in second with 140 hits from Vanshika (71) and Jyotiraditya (69). Punjab placed third with a total of 136 hits, and Rajasthan rounded out the top four with 133.
The 68th National Championships continue on Wednesday, with the 10m Air Pistol Women’s finals scheduled at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi.