Victory for Rhythm, Swapnil, and Arya at National Trials

Synopsis

On February 12, Olympians Rhythm Sangwan, Swapnil Kusale, and Arya Rajesh Borse excelled at the National Selection Trials in New Delhi. Rhythm clinched the women's 25m pistol T2, while Swapnil triumphed in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions - T1, and Arya emerged victorious in the women's 10m air rifle T2 event.

Key Takeaways

Rhythm Sangwan wins the women's 25m pistol T2 after a shoot-off.
Swapnil Kusale dominates the men's 50m rifle 3 positions - T1 final.
Arya Rajesh Borse secures victory in the women's 10m air rifle T2 final.
Manu Bhaker finishes second in women's 25m pistol T2.
High competition with multiple Olympians in contention.

New Delhi, Feb 12 (NationPress) Olympians Rhythm Sangwan and Swapnil Kusale took center stage on Wednesday during Day Five of the Rifle/Pistol National Selection Trials (Group A) at Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR). Rhythm Sangwan (women’s 25m pistol T2), Swapnil Kusale (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions - T1), and Arya Rajesh Borse (women’s 10m air rifle T2) secured the winners' accolades by the day’s end.

Haryana’s Rhythm was the first to claim victory after a series of shoot-offs, overcoming a finals group that included four other Olympians, notably Manu Bhaker, who won double bronze at the Paris Olympics and finished in second place.

Next was Swapnil, who demonstrated his prowess in the men’s 3P T1 final, while Arya Rajesh Borse celebrated a remarkable victory in the highly competitive women’s air rifle T2 final, narrowly missing the world record score set at the same venue.

Rhythm Wins via Shoot-off

Upon her return to the sport, Manu Bhaker showcased her skills by leading the women’s 25m pistol trials for the second consecutive time, achieving a score of 294 in the second rapid-fire qualifying round, totaling 591 points. Simranpreet Kaur Brar, one of the most consistent competitors recently, came in second with a score of 588.

Four more Olympians made it to the final eight: Rahi Sarnobat (588, 3rd), Esha Singh (586, 4th), Heena Sidhu (580, 5th), and Rhythm (578, 7th), setting the stage for a thrilling finale.

Ultimately, both Rhythm and Manu ended with 37 hits after 10 series of five shots each, necessitating two shoot-offs to determine the winner, with Rhythm edging out Manu 4-3 in the second shoot-off after an initial tie of 4-4. Simranpreet earned another podium finish in third place.

Swapnil Stands Out

Paris bronze medallist Swapnil Kusale qualified for the men’s 3P T1 final with an impressive score of 592 out of 600, securing third on the leaderboard. The Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav led with a stellar 596, followed by another top shooter Akhil Sheoran with 593.

During the final, Swapnil maintained his lead from the first five shots in the Kneeling position until the end, finishing with a score of 465.1, 2.6 points ahead of Akhil in second place, while veteran Chain Singh took third.

Arya Claims Victory in Women’s Air Rifle

Arya Rajesh Borse from Maharashtra clinched the women’s 10m air rifle T2 trial after an exciting final where India’s finest shooters delivered impressive scores.

The newly crowned national champion Ananya Naidu set the pace with a remarkable 53.1 after the initial five shots, leading until the 20th shot of the 24-shot final. Two-time Olympian Elavenil Valarivan was a strong competitor alongside Arya, who was in sixth after the first 10 shots.

From the 11th to the 21st shots, Arya shot consistently above 10.4, finishing with a perfect 10.9 to take the lead, while Mehuli Ghosh overtook Elavenil for a podium spot.

As Arya and Ananya entered the last two shots tied at 231.9, Arya delivered two 10.8s to finish with a total of 253.5. Ananya also managed two high scores but fell short by 0.5 in the final count.