Sonam Uttam Maskar of the Railways and Neeraj Kumar of the Army claimed victory on the fourth day of the ongoing Rifle/Pistol National Selection Trials (Group A) at Delhi’s Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR). Sonam, who secured three ISSF medals in 2024, topped the women’s 10m air rifle T1 final with a score of 253.2, edging out Maharashtra’s national champion Ananya Naidu, who finished 1.3 points behind in second place. Neeraj, in the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol (RFP) T2 final, caused an upset by defeating the Paris Olympic-bound shooters Anish and Vijayveer Sidhu, relegating them to second and third positions, respectively.
Earlier, Sonam impressed in the 60-shot qualification round, securing the top spot with a score of 633.9. Olympians Elavenil Valarivan (second with 632.6) and Ayonika Paul (seventh with 630.4) advanced to the final along with national champion Ananya (fifth with 632.1). Despite the competition, Sonam dominated the final, starting strong with a near-perfect 10.7 and never looked back, finishing with a commanding lead. Ananya, who was only 0.4 behind at the 16-shot mark, was unable to catch up, while Arya Rajesh Borse from Maharashtra completed the podium in third.
In the men’s RFP T2 qualification, India’s top-ranked shooter Anish led with an impressive 590, with Raajwardan Patil (584) and Vijayveer Sidhu (580) in second and third, respectively. Neeraj, qualifying fourth with 579, stunned the competition in the final, shooting perfect 5s in the first three series and a perfect 5 in the sixth series, securing the win. Anish finished with 31, just three points behind, while Vijayveer claimed the bronze.
Meanwhile, double Olympic bronze medalist Manu Bhaker continued her impressive form in the women’s 25m pistol T2 event, leading after the first precision round of qualification with a score of 297 out of 300. The second rapid-fire round and final will take place on Wednesday, Feb 12, 2025.
