How Did Rashmika’s Gold and Manu’s Bronze Illuminate India’s Day at the Asian Shooting Championship?

Shymkent (Kazakhstan), Aug 19 (NationPress) Rashmika Sahgal achieved gold, marking India's third individual yellow medal of the event, after Manu Bhaker, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, showcased remarkable consistency in her career, securing yet another international individual medal. This occurred on the second day of the 16th Asian Shooting Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Shymkent, Kazakhstan.

Manu scored 219.7 in the women's 10m air pistol final, securing third place, while Rashmika confidently seized the junior women's air pistol title with a score of 241.9, finishing a substantial 4.3 points ahead of silver medalist Han Seunghyun from Korea.

Rashmika experienced double success (qualification score 582), teaming up with Vanshika Chaudhary (573) and Mohini Singh (565) to win the team gold in the event.

Manu (583) also earned a team bronze in the women's air pistol alongside reigning Asian Games champion Palak (573) and Suruchi Phogat (574), both narrowly missing the individual final by three and two points respectively.

In the final, Manu was fifth after the first series of five shots and fourth after the second. However, a score of 10.5 on her 11th shot propelled her to second place behind the eventual champion, Ma Qianke of China.

With Ma out of reach, the contest for the minor places became intense between Korean 25m pistol Olympic champion Yang Jiin, experienced Iranian Haniyeh Rostamiyan, and Manu. The Indian athlete managed to make the crucial shots when needed, securing the bronze while Haniyeh finished fourth.

In the junior women’s final, Rashmika engaged in a fierce contest from the outset with Korea’s Han, but she took the lead after the 13th shot and never looked back, capped off by a 10.9 on her 15th shot.

Since Monday, India has secured an individual bronze, a team silver, and a team bronze in the 10m air pistol events across both senior men's and women's categories.

They have also dominated the junior individual golds in this event, with Kapil Bainsla leading the charge on Monday, followed by Rashmika Sahgal's victory on Tuesday.

While Kapil clinched a team silver, Rashmika completed a golden double with the support of her teammates Vanshika and Mohini in the women’s junior team competition. Additionally, Jonathan Gavin Antony earned a bronze in the junior men’s air pistol, while Girish Gupta took home the youth men’s air pistol gold and Dev Pratap secured bronze in the youth men’s category. The youth team also bagged gold in their event.

Overall, India has amassed five gold, two silver, and four bronze medals from all competitions conducted thus far.