National Shooting Championships: Kiran Ankush Jadhav Defeats Olympians to Secure Men's 3P Title

Bhopal, Dec 18 (NationPress) The Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav successfully tackled the competition posed by two Olympians, including Swapnil Kusale, the Paris Olympic bronze medalist representing the Railways, to seize the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) championship during the National Shooting Championships held at the M.P. State Academy Shooting range on Wednesday.

The navy shooter achieved a score of 465.8 in the final, surpassing double-Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar of the host state, who finished second with a score of 463.1. Kusale, who had led the 45-shot final until the 40th shot, ultimately settled for third place with a total score of 451.8.

Previously, Kusale had topped the qualification round with an impressive score of 593, just a point ahead of Aishwary, who finished in second place with 592. Kiran managed to qualify in fourth position with a solid score of 590.

However, both the gold and silver medalists executed crucial shots at critical moments, finishing ahead of Kusale, who struggled to find the 10-ring after his 40th shot. His last four shots in the final standing position were 9.2, 9.4, 8.9, and 9.5, which dashed his title aspirations.

In contrast, Jadhav remained in third place until the 40-shot mark, before delivering a series of impressive shots: 10.6, 10.4, 10.6, 10.0, and 10.8, to clinch the gold. Tomar's 41st shot, which scored 9.9, prevented him from capitalizing on Kusale's missteps, allowing him to maintain his second position.

In the junior final, Adriyan Karmakar from West Bengal bested Madhya Pradesh’s Kushagra Singh Rajawat with a score of 462.0, finishing four points ahead. Deependra Singh Shekhawat from Rajasthan secured third place with a score of 445.6. Adriyan had qualified third for the final with a score of 586, while Rohit Kanyan from Haryana, who reached both finals, topped the qualification leaderboard with a score of 587.