Suraj Sharma sweeps senior and junior 25m rapid fire pistol national titles

New Delhi, Dec 26 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh’s Suraj Sharma delivered a golden double, sweeping both the senior and junior men's titles in the 25m rapid fire pistol at the National Shooting Championships here on Friday.

Suraj began the senior final in dominant fashion, hitting 19 of his first 20 targets, and went on to close the contest with 31 hits, finishing three clear of defending champion Vijayveer Sidhu of Punjab, who settled for the silver medal with 28 hits.

Rajasthan's Bhavesh Shekhawat rounded off the podium, claiming bronze with a total of 24 hits.

Earlier in the qualification round, Ankur Goel topped the standings with a strong score of 582-20x. He was followed closely by Vijayveer, who shot 580-18x, while Adarsh Singh finished third with 579-22x. Suraj qualified fifth with 579-12x.

Earlier in the RFP junior men final, Suraj produced another composed display to win the gold medal with 30 hits.

Mukeshi secured the silver medal, finishing with 25 hits. Haryana's Jatin settled for the bronze medal with 22 hits after a shoot-off, having earlier shot 575-13x in qualification.

In the senior team category, Punjab claimed the gold medal with an aggregate score of 1725, led by Vijayveer, Udhayveer Sidhu, and Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu.

Haryana secured the silver medal with 1722 through the combined efforts of Adarsh Singh, Mandeep Singh, and Sameer, while the Navy claimed bronze with 1711, courtesy of Pradeep Singh Shekhawat, Rajat Kumar Yadav, and Omkar Singh. PTI APA ATK