New Delhi, Jan 3 (NationPress) The 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions witnessed an exhilarating showdown as Ajay Kumar from the Army clinched the gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol Men’s final. His victory came after a tense battle, while Jonathan Gavin Antony from Karnataka distinguished himself by achieving a remarkable Sub-Youth, Youth, and Junior treble in the men’s air pistol categories at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range on Saturday.

In the final match, Ajay Kumar showcased exceptional composure, finishing first with a score of 241.1. He narrowly beat Shubham Bisla from Railways, who took the silver with 240.1, while Anmol Jain from Haryana secured the bronze with 220.0.

Shiva Narwal from Haryana came in fourth with 197.2, followed by Navy competitors Aakash Bhardwaj and Ujjawal Malik in fifth and sixth with 177.8 and 157.3 respectively. Rahul Serawat from Rajasthan placed seventh with 136.6, and Arjun Singh Cheema from Punjab rounded out the final eight with 115.8.

The qualification stage was fiercely contested, with Ujjawal Malik, Rahul Serawat, and Shiva Narwal all scoring 584 but separated by inner-10 counts. Malik led the qualifiers with 584-22x, followed by Serawat at 584-17x and Narwal also at 584-17x. Other finalists included Arjun Singh Cheema (583-23x), Anmol Jain (583-22x), and Ajay Kumar (583-20x).

Noteworthy participants included Sarabjot Singh, who finished 19th with 580-22x, while reigning World Champion Samrat Rana placed 71st with 576-20x. Defending champion Varun Tomar had a disappointing day, finishing 99th with 575-16x, highlighting the fierce competition in the men’s air pistol category this year.

Tamil Nadu achieved a notable victory in the shotgun range, defeating Madhya Pradesh with a score of 36–35 in the Senior Trap Mixed Team final. Olympian R. Prithviraj Tondaiman led Tamil Nadu with 19 hits, assisted by Nilaa Rajaa Baalu who contributed 17 hits.

National Women’s Trap champion Neeru Dhanda and Arshad Hasan Khan of Madhya Pradesh fought valiantly with 20 and 15 hits, respectively, but had to settle for silver. The bronze medal was claimed by Rajasthan, who bested Haryana 42–37, thanks to Vivaan Kapoor’s 25 hits and Manvi Soni’s 17 hits.

In the Junior Trap Mixed Team final, Tamil Nadu triumphed once more, defeating Haryana 39–35. Yugan SM excelled for Tamil Nadu with 22 hits, while Tanisska Senthilkumar added 17. Haryana’s Arjun and Suhanya Singh scored 18 and 17 respectively in a competitive match.

In the Youth Men’s final, Jonathan once again exhibited his skills, finishing first with 240.0. Guntajpreet Singh from Punjab took silver with 236.0, while Savej Khan from Uttar Pradesh claimed bronze at 214.3. Harsh Kumar Haldkar of Madhya Pradesh finished fourth with 195.9.

In an impressive display, Jonathan returned for the Junior Men’s final, winning another gold with a score of 240.5. Shiva Narwal of Haryana was a close second at 240.3, while Rajasthan’s Yogesh Kumar secured bronze with 218.2.