Martina Devi clinches silver at Asian Jr Weightlifting C’ships
DOHA, Dec 26: Indian lifter Martina Devi clinched a silver medal in the women’s junior +87kg category at the Asian Junior Weightlifting Championships here on Wednesday.The 18-year-old from Manipur lifted a total of 225kg (96kg+129kg) to finish second in the three-lifter field. She also won a silver medal for her clean and jerk effort and a bronze for her snatch.The performance was, however, far from Devi’s personal best. The teenager had lifted a national junior record-breaking 101kg in snatch and 136kg in clean and jerk at the junior world championships earlier this year.Medals are awarded separately for snatch, clean and jerk, and total lift in continental, World Cups and World Championships. (PTI)
Vijayveer wins first 25m rapid fire pistol national title
NEW DELHI, Dec 26: Punjab’s Vijayveer Sidhu beat fellow Olympian Gurpreet Singh of Army Marksmanship Unit to clinch his maiden men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol (RFP) title at the on-going 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for pistol events here on Thursday.Paris Olympian Vijayveer got the better of Rio Olympian Gurpreet 28-25 in the title round. Air Force’s Shivam Shukla finished third with a score of 23.Vijayveer shot 581 in the qualifications to make it to the six-man eight series of five rapid-fire shots final round in second position, behind UP’s Ankur Goel, who shot 585.Gurpreet, who announced after the finals that this would be his last nationals as he was turning to coaching, only managed to clinch the sixth and last spot with a score of 575.In the final, however, Vijayveer looked comfortable and was a cut above the rest from the second series onwards.Gurpreet rolled back the years to overcome two shoot-offs, one to secure a medal.In the junior men’s RFP, Maharashtra’s Ashutosh Paatil won the gold with 31 hits to his name. He sealed the deal with three consecutive perfect 5s for fifth, sixth and seventh series respectively, giving the rest of the field no chance.Suraj Sharma of Madhya Pradesh was second, while Abhinav Choudhary of Rajasthan won bronze. (PTI)
Equestrian: Inaara, Freya, Hussain win gold medals
MUMBAI, Dec 26: Inaara Mehta Luthria, Freya Thakkar, and Hayden Hussain from Amateur Riders’ Club (ARC) clinched the gold at the National Equestrian Championships (NEC), held in New Delhi. The NEC is a prestigious platform for young riders from across the country. Inaara’s performance stood out as she executed flawless rounds, earning praise from judges and spectators. This remarkable achievement not only highlights Inaara’s exceptional talent and dedication but also underscores ARC’s commitment to nurturing young equestrian athletes.Competing in the Dressage Team, Sub Junior category, Inaara delivered an outstanding performance, scoring an impressive 78.63%, while riding on Secks Richtige, followed by her teammates Ananya on Knock Out scoring 73.35%, Subh on Furstentanz scoring 74.20% and Pranav on Fame of Viberty KG scoring 68.78%, making an average score of the team 226.18% and winning the gold. The average score of the team who finished 2nd was 210.24% and the 3rd was 206.26%.In Show Jumping Team (1m), while riding on Cuba, Hayden got 4 penalties in 1st round and managed to clear the 2nd round and win the gold. Freya got eliminated in the 1st round but managed to clear the 2nd round with no penalties, making a perfect spot in the tabletop. (IANS)