Arshdeep Kaur Triumphs in Women's 25m Pistol Final at National Shooting Trials
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New Delhi, March 8 (NationPress) In a thrilling conclusion to the Women's 25m Pistol finals at the National Selection Trials (Group A), Arshdeep Kaur emerged victorious at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi on Sunday. The shooter from Punjab, who entered the finals as the last qualifier, narrowly defeated the seasoned Divya T.S with a score of 37-36, claiming the top position in a competitive eight-shooter showdown.
Former Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat secured the third spot with 33 hits after a shoot-off against Divya. Following her were Rhythm Sangwan in fourth place, and Niveditha V. Nair, national champion Manu Bhaker, national bronze medallist Anjali Choudhary, and Chinki Yadav rounding out the top eight.
Manu led the qualification rounds with an impressive score of 582-17x (Precision 287, Rapid 295) over two days, while Rahi followed closely with 580-20x (Precision 292, Rapid 288), and Divya qualified third with 580-13x (Precision 290, Rapid 290).
The other competitors included Niveditha V. Nair (577-23x, Precision 288, Rapid 289), Rhythm Sangwan (577-16x, Precision 285, Rapid 292), Anjali Choudhary (576-12x, Precision 287, Rapid 289), Chinki Yadav (575-20x, Precision 280, Rapid 290), and Arshdeep Kaur (575-19x, Precision 285, Rapid 290).
On Monday, the qualification and finals for the 50m Rifle 3 Positions for both men and women, along with the 10m Air Pistol qualifications for men, will take place.
With an intense international and domestic calendar set to kick off next month, nearly all of India's elite athletes are competing across ten events in the National Selection Trials 3 (Group A), covering all eight Olympic events and additional rifle prone competitions.
Participants are striving to achieve qualifying scores to bolster their chances for selection in the national team for international tournaments later this year.
Rifle/Pistol Selection Trials 3 and 4 for Group B athletes began on Friday and will run at the M.P. State Shooting Academy in Bhopal until March 22, 2026. After the trials, the national team athletes will enter a coaching camp in New Delhi from March 10 to 21, 2026.
The national camp for shotgun athletes started on Thursday in New Delhi, with skeet shooters arriving first. Trap shooters will join the camp on March 8, 2026. This training will precede the pre-event camp ahead of the ISSF World Cup Shotgun, the first World Cup of the year, scheduled in Tangier, Morocco, from March 21 to April 3, 2026.