New Delhi, Feb 10 (NationPress) Rudrankksh Patil from Maharashtra and Sift Kaur Samra from Punjab triumphed in consecutive national selection trials for Group A shooters, clinching victories in the men’s 10m air rifle and women’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) T2 matches respectively on Monday.

Both elite international shooters had previously secured wins in the T1 trials held at the same Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) in Delhi just a day earlier.

Rudrankksh, the reigning men’s air rifle world champion, scored an impressive 253.3 in the final, while Sift showcased even greater prowess, finishing with a remarkable score of 469.8, which surpassed her own world record by 0.2 points.

Punjab celebrated another victory as Simranpreet Kaur Brar claimed the third final of the day in the women's 25m pistol T1, scoring 36 and outpacing Olympians Esha Singh and Manu Bhaker, who took silver and bronze.

Sift achieved her third title within a week

The first decider of the day featured Sift Kaur Samra, who delivered an extraordinary finals performance, securing her third title in a week, which included a National Games gold and two trial victories.

She excelled in qualifications with a score of 595 and maintained her lead throughout the 45-shot final, finishing 4.6 points ahead of fellow Olympian Shriyanka Sadangi from Odisha. Despite a final shot of 9.9, her overall performance was so precise that she set a new world record. Surabhi Rapole from Telangana claimed the bronze medal.

Rudrankksh achieves a remarkable double

The former world champion, Rudrankksh Patil, has been in exceptional form this season, having narrowly missed qualification for the Paris Olympics. He secured his second trials victory within two days with a composed performance in the men’s 10m air rifle. He placed second in qualification with a score of 633.0, just behind silver medalist Hriday Hazarika from Assam, determined only by countback.

In the final, he started strong with a score of 10.4 and maintained his lead throughout, ultimately finishing 1.9 points ahead of Hriday after 24 shots. Smit Moradiya from Gujarat took bronze.

Simranpreet outshines Esha and Manu

After previously losing to them in last year’s Olympic trials, Simranpreet Kaur Brar managed to outperform the top pistol pair of Manu Bhaker, a double bronze medalist from the Paris Olympics, and Esha Singh, the reigning World Air Pistol Mixed Team champion, in the women's 25m pistol T1 selection trial.

Starting strong with a perfect score, she concluded the final series tied with Esha at 32 hits. Despite a good recovery from Manu, who had topped qualification with a score of 587, Simranpreet finished the last series strong, securing a narrow victory with 4 hits compared to Esha’s 3.