Sift, Rhythm win again as Kiran Jadhav joins winners circle at national shooting trials

New Delhi, Dec 22 (PTI) Sift Kaur Samra and Rhythm Sangwan became the third and fourth shooters to win both the ongoing national selection trial matches when they registered victories in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions and women’s 25m pistol competitions here on Friday.

Navy’s Kiran Ankush Jadhav also joined the winners circle, with a victory in the men’s 10m air rifle T2 trial.

Sift has been in the form of her life and gave another glimpse of that with a stunning 595 in qualification, which included a perfect 200 in the first kneeling position.

Bhakti Bhaskar Khamkar, who also shot well to finish second, was five points behind. Sift’s score was one more than her national record score set in the Asian Games earlier this year and one less than the world record.

In the eight-woman final, she shot 464.8, to give Olympian and state senior Anjum Moudgil of Punjab no chance, as the latter finished with 461.7. Priya of the Army was third.

In the women’s 25m pistol T2 trials, Manu Bhaker topped the qualifiers by firing a 590, but it was Rhythm who yet again piped her to the top spot with 35 hits as against the Youth Olympic champion’s 32.

Just like in the T1 trials, Rhythm’s qualifying score of 578 and seventh place left a lot to be desired, but she was top gun when it mattered the most.

Former World Cup final gold medallist and world number one Heena Sidhu finished third overall with 27 hits and was second in the qualifiers with a high score of 586.

In the men’s 10m air rifle, Kiran Jadhav shot brilliantly throughout the day, first posting a table-topping 633.4 and then nailing the final with a solid 252.8.

One 10.9 adorned his 24-shot scoreboard while his lowest in the final was a 10.1 for his 17th shot. Assam’s Hriday Hazarika was second with 250.5 while Lagad Saurav Gorakh of the Navy was third.