T4 Shooting Trials: Sarabjot, Akhil, Lakshita, Sakshi win finals in Dehradun
Synopsis
Eight qualifiers went in, but it was the underdogs who stole the show. Army shooter Lakshita — seeded eighth — beat qualification leader Manu Bhaker's group to win the women's air pistol by just 0.2 points, while Akhil Sheoran's final-round surge from fifth seed to title in the 50m rifle 3 positions underlined the unpredictability of India's T4 trials. The squad for the Asian Games and ISSF World Cup Hangzhou is now one day away.
Key Takeaways
Sarabjot Singh won the men's 10m air pistol final with 245.9 , edging Ajendra Singh Chauhan ( 245.1 ) at the T4 National Selection Trials in Dehradun on 9 June .
Army shooter Lakshita , the eighth qualifier, won the women's 10m air pistol final on 240.0 , beating Surbhi Rao by just 0.2 points .
Akhil Sheoran claimed the men's 50m rifle 3 positions title with 358.3 , defeating Navy's Niraj Kumar by 0.2 points .
Sakshi Sunil Padekar won the women's 50m rifle 3 positions final with 358.2 , ahead of Tilottama Sen ( 357.8 ).
ISSF Munich World Cup gold medallists Suruchi and Palak did not start the women's air pistol final despite qualifying.
The trials conclude on Wednesday with 50m Rifle Prone events; Indian squads for the Asian Games and ISSF World Cup Hangzhou are expected to be finalised thereafter.
Paris Olympic bronze medallist Sarabjot Singh, Army shooter Lakshita, former world championship medallist Akhil Sheoran, and Maharashtra's Sakshi Sunil Padekar clinched their respective titles as four finals were decided on the penultimate day of the T4 National Selection Trials for Rifle and Pistol shooters at the Trishul Shooting Range, Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, on Tuesday, 9 June. The results will feed directly into squad selection for upcoming international assignments including the Asian Games and the ISSF World Cup Hangzhou.
Men's 10m Air Pistol: Sarabjot edges out Chauhan
In the men's 10m air pistol final, Sarabjot Singh topped the field with a score of 245.9, narrowly holding off Army marksman Ajendra Singh Chauhan, who pushed him to the wire before finishing second on 245.1. World champion Samrat Rana completed the podium with 221.5.
Haryana's Kamaljeet Choudhary finished fourth with 201.8, while qualification topper Saurabh Chaudhary — who had led qualifying on 583-21x — ended fifth on 179.7. Punjab's Udhayveer Sidhu was sixth with 157.4, Rajasthan's Omprakash Mitharval seventh with 136.0, and Army shooter Parmod eighth with 116.3.
Women's 10m Air Pistol: Lakshita's comeback from eighth seed
The women's 10m air pistol final produced the closest finish of the day. Army shooter Lakshita, who had scraped into the final as the eighth qualifier with a score of 573-19x, held her nerve to edge Haryana's Surbhi Rao by just 0.2 points — finishing on 240.0 against Surbhi's 239.8. Uttar Pradesh's Mansi Anand claimed third with 220.2.
ISSF World Cup Final 2025 silver medallist Sainyam finished fourth with 197.6, followed by Haryana's Muskan Bhanwala and Manu Bhaker in fifth and sixth positions with scores of 177.0 and 157.1, respectively. Notably, ISSF Munich World Cup gold medallists Suruchi and Palak did not start the final despite qualifying. Manu Bhaker had led the qualification round with 579-20x.
Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions: Akhil Sheoran wins by a whisker
The men's 50m rifle 3 positions final was equally dramatic. Akhil Sheoran of Uttar Pradesh edged Navy's Niraj Kumar by just 0.2 points to claim the title, finishing on 358.3 to Niraj's 358.1. World Championship medallist Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar — who had topped qualification with 591-35x — took third place with 345.4.
Olympian Chain Singh finished fourth with 333.7, followed by Nikhil Tanwar (319.0), Goldi Gurjar (309.1), Sidharth Gaur (299.1), and Adriyan Karmakar (292.5). Akhil had qualified fifth with 587-30x, making his final-round surge all the more striking.
Women's 50m Rifle 3 Positions: Sakshi Padekar outguns Tilottama Sen
In the women's 50m rifle 3 positions final, Maharashtra's Sakshi Sunil Padekar overcame Karnataka's Tilottama Sen in a high-quality contest, finishing on 358.2 against Tilottama's 357.8. Madhya Pradesh's Ashi Chouksey secured third with 345.5.
Kerala's Vidarsa K. Vinod placed fourth with 334.4, while Olympians Anjum Moudgil and Sift Kaur Samra finished fifth and sixth with 322.9 and 312.3 respectively. Army shooter Priya took seventh after a shoot-off with Sift, while Haryana's Nischal Singh ended eighth with 300.7. Sakshi had qualified third with 589-36x before surging to the top in the final.
National Rankings and What Comes Next
In updated national rankings, Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve leads the men's 10m air pistol standings ahead of Gaurav Kumar and Kamaljeet Choudhary, while Suruchi holds the No. 1 spot in the women's event ahead of Sainyam and Esha Singh. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar tops the men's 50m rifle 3 positions rankings, with Niraj Kumar and Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil behind him. Ashi Chouksey leads the women's standings ahead of Vidarsa K. Vinod and Tilottama Sen.
The T4 trials conclude on Wednesday with the 50m Rifle Prone events for men and women. Following the final results, the Indian rifle and pistol squads for the Asian Games and ISSF World Cup Hangzhou are expected to be announced.
Point of View
The qualification leader, finished sixth — is a reminder that trial-day pressure separates India's shooting depth from its headline names. The non-start of Munich World Cup gold medallists Suruchi and Palak despite qualifying is a detail selectors cannot ignore. With the Asian Games squad announcement imminent, these trials have done exactly what they should: complicated the easy choices.
NationPress
12 Aug 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won the men's 10m air pistol final at the T4 National Shooting Trials?
Paris Olympic bronze medallist Sarabjot Singh won the men's 10m air pistol final at the T4 National Selection Trials in Dehradun on 9 June, finishing with a score of 245.9. Army shooter Ajendra Singh Chauhan was second with 245.1, and World champion Samrat Rana third with 221.5.
Who won the women's 10m air pistol final at the T4 trials?
Army shooter Lakshita won the women's 10m air pistol final with a score of 240.0, beating Haryana's Surbhi Rao by just 0.2 points. Lakshita had entered the final as the eighth and last qualifier, making the win one of the day's biggest upsets.
What happened in the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final?
Akhil Sheoran of Uttar Pradesh won the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final with 358.3, edging Navy's Niraj Kumar by 0.2 points. Sheoran had qualified fifth, making his title win a notable comeback in the final.
Why did Suruchi and Palak not compete in the women's air pistol final?
ISSF Munich World Cup gold medallists Suruchi and Palak did not start the women's 10m air pistol final despite having qualified for it. No official reason was provided in the available reports.
When will the Indian shooting squad for the Asian Games and ISSF World Cup Hangzhou be announced?
The T4 Rifle and Pistol trials conclude on Wednesday with the 50m Rifle Prone events. Following the final day's results, the Indian rifle and pistol squads for the Asian Games and ISSF World Cup Hangzhou are expected to be finalised and announced.
