Rudrankksh Patil wins 10m Air Rifle gold at KSS Memorial Championship in Bhopal
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil of Maharashtra clinched the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Men event at the 24th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Shooting Championship on 8 May at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal. Patil posted a final score of 252.9 to top the podium, edging out Haryana's Rohit Kanyan (silver, 251.9) and West Bengal's Baiduriya Biswas (bronze, 230.8).
Qualification standings
In the qualification round, Delhi's Paarth Makhija topped the field with 633.4, followed by Railways' Shahu Tushar Mane (630.0) and Gujarat's Gajjar Krish Jigneshbhai (627.8). Patil advanced to the final in fourth place with 627.7, demonstrating his ability to peak under pressure in the medal round.
Junior and youth divisions shine
West Bengal's Ashmit Chatterjee claimed the junior men's title with 251.0, ahead of Uttar Pradesh's Piyush Sharma (silver, 250.5). In the youth men's category, West Bengal's Abhinav Shaw topped the podium with 254.4, the highest individual final score across the three divisions, with Haryana's Priyanshu taking silver (249.7).
Team and other events
In the 10m Rifle Men Team event, Uttar Pradesh (Piyush Sharma, Pratham Bhadana, Harsh Surya) secured gold with 1885.6, narrowly ahead of West Bengal (1884.9) and Maharashtra (1884.5). The championship also featured 50m Rifle Prone events across multiple categories: Navy's Niraj Kumar won the senior men's title with 623.3, while Army claimed the team gold with 1869.6. Sub-youth, master, deaf, and junior divisions rounded out a comprehensive competitive calendar.
Championship significance
The 24th Kumar Surendra Singh Memorial Championship serves as a key domestic platform for rifle and pistol shooters across India, drawing talent from state teams, armed forces, and railways. Results from this event often feed into national team selections for international competitions. The strong performances by shooters from West Bengal, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh underline the depth of competitive shooting talent across India's regions.