Shooting
Bhavesh Shekhawat claims gold, Vijay Kumar finishes fourth at National Shooting Championships
Haryana's Anish Bhanwala claimed a gold in the junior rapid fire competition
Shooter Bhavesh Shekhawat
Rajasthan's Bhavesh Shekhawat sealed his first title by winning the men's 25m rapid fire pistol gold at the ongoing 64th Shooting Nationals, even as Olympic silver-medallist comeback-man Vijay Kumar finished fourth on Sunday. Haryana's Anish Bhanwala, who was third in the men's event, claimed a gold in the junior rapid fire competition, strengthening his state's firm grip at the top of the medals tally.
In the men's event though, Bhavesh, a long-time performer in the national circuit and who has also represented India, finally broke through on the day overcoming a quality field. He was in great form registering as many as three clean series scores of 5 in the eight-series final, to finish with 33 hits out of 40. The next best, the seasoned Gurpreet Singh of the Army, had one 5-hits series to claim the silver with 29, while Anish won bronze with 22 hits.
Vijay, returning to competitive shooting after a gap of five years, bowed out in fourth position while on 17 hits. Youngsters Vijayveer Sidhu and Ahnad Jawanda finished fifth and sixth respectively.
In the junior men's final, Anish was in stunning form, not shooting below 4 per series with two clean scores of 5 among them. His final score of 34 was way ahead of state-mate Adarsh Singh, who won silver with 30-hits. Sidhu picked up the bronze for Punjab with 24.
