DEHRADUN, Feb 6: Indian Navy’s Niraj Kumar stunned Paris Olympics bronze medallist Swapnil Kumar and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar to win gold in the men’s 50-metre rifle 3 positions event at the National Games here on Thursday.
Representing Services Sports Control Board (SSCB), the 25-year-old Niraj, who is no stranger to winning medals in top competitions, shot a remarkable score of 464.1 to secure the top spot.
Madhya Pradesh’s Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar secured the silver with a score of 462.4, while Maharashtra’s Swapnil, who made history as the first Indian shooter to win an Olympic medal in this event with his bronze at the Paris Games last year, settled for third place (447.7).
Niraj has undergone training at the Elite Shooting Academy at the Padukone Dravid Centre for Sports Excellence (CSE) in Yelahanka, Bangalore.
Meanwhile, in the 10-metre air pistol mixed team event, Haryana’s Suruchi Singh and Parmod defeated Rajasthan’s Anjali Shekhawat and Umesh Choudhary 17-7 to clinch the gold medal.
The bronze went to the Maharashtra combine of Rahi Sarnobat and Pranav Arvind Patil after the pair crushed Uttarakhand’s Abhinav Deshwal and Yashasvi Joshi 17-3.
These two events marked the end of the shooting competitions at the ongoing Games.
In the mixed event qualification, 19 teams fought for slots in the medal rounds.
In the 3P final, Niraj, who has 1 World Championship, 1 World Cup and 2 Asian Championship medals under his belt, maintained his lead through the competition to pip his more fancied opponents.
Niraj has beaten the likes of Swapnil and Aishwary in the selection trials for the Paris Olympics too. (PTI)
