Ramita Jindal tops women’s 10m air rifle qualification
Dehradun, Jan 29: Haryana’s Asian Games bronze medallist shooter Ramita Jindal turned in a world class performance to top the qualification round in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the 38th National Games here on Wednesday.
The 21-year-old Ramita, who won a bronze in the Hangzhou Asian Games and a team gold in the 2023 World Championships, shot 634.9, bettering the 634.5 by Korea’s Ban Hyojin in the Paris Olympic Games qualification round, to top the chart on the first day of shooting competitions.
Ramita’s score gave her a 0.4-point margin over Arya Borse of Maharashtra. Tamil Nadu’s Narmada Raju was only 0.1 points behind to be at the third place. Kerala’s Vidarsa K Vinod, who was leading the chart at one stage, was fourth with 633.0 points.
Shreya Agarwal of Madhya Pradesh (632.0), Elavenil Valarivan of Gujarat (631.9), Meghana Sajjanar of Karnataka (631.2) and Manyata Singh of Odisha (630.1) completed the set of eight finalists who will do battle on Thursday.
It promises to be a riveting contest that will test the nerves of each of the shooters in the final at the brand new Trishul Shooting Range here.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Vijayveer Singh Sidhu shot 587 to emerged on top in the men’s rapid fire pistol. Anish Bhanwala of Haryana (582), Neeraj Kumar of Services (579), Bhavesh Shekhawat of Rajasthan (577), Omkar Singh of Services (574) and Gurpreet Singh of Services (574) completed the list of finalists.
2012 London Olympics silver medallist Vijay Kumar of Himachal Pradesh was in the running for a place in the final, but a sub-par final series put paid to his aspirations.
Had he shot 94 instead of 90 in the four-second series in the second stage of qualification, the veteran may have forced a shoot-off for the sixth place.
Shooting is one discipline where many of the top players are taking part in the National Games.
All the shooters, who competed in the Paris Olympics last year, with the exception of double-medallist Manu Bhaker and Esha Singh, are set to be seen in action in the National Games.
Swapnil Kusale, Sarabjot Singh and Vijay Kumar will be among the Olympic medallists in action while former air rifle world champion Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil will represent his home state of Maharashtra.
In total, 364 shooters will represent 29 teams at the National Games, making shooting the star attraction of the Games. (PTI)
Haryana start with dominant wins in Men’s Rugby 7s
Dehradun, Jan 29: Defending champions Haryana started strong in the men’s Rugby 7s competitions at the 38th National Games 2025, securing two commanding victories on the opening day of competition on Wednesday. The three-time consecutive champions defeated hosts Uttarakhand 38-0 in their first match before securing a 31-12 win over Maharashtra in their second fixture at the Maharana Pratap Sports Complex in Dehradun.
Haryana left no room for doubt in their campaign opener to clinch a 38-0 victory over Uttarakhand. Prince Khatri was the standout performer, scoring 15 points with three tries, each worth five points. Captain Deepak Punia converted well, adding eight points to the tally. Mohit Tushir, Mohit Khatri, and Ajay Deswal also contributed significantly, scoring five points each through their respective tries.
Continuing their impressive form, Haryana outplayed Maharashtra with a convincing 31-12 victory in their second game of the day. Mohit Khatri and Ajay Deswal led the charge with 10 points each, securing two tries apiece.
Deepak Punia remained reliable in conversions, adding six crucial points, while Prince contributed another five points with a well-executed try. With these wins, Haryana solidified their position at the top of their group. (IANS)