SHYMKENT: India celebrated a stellar day at the Asian Shooting Championship on Tuesday, with double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker clinching bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol and Rashmika Sahgal claiming gold in the junior women’s event.
Bhaker scored 219.7 in the eight-woman final to finish third, while China’s Ma Qianke took gold with 243.2, narrowly beating Korea’s Jiin Yang, who secured silver with 241.6.
Rashmika added India’s third individual gold of the championship, showcasing remarkable consistency by posting 241.9, finishing 4.3 points ahead of silver medallist Han Seunghyun of Korea. The junior shooter also contributed to India’s team gold alongside Vanshika Chaudhary (573) and Mohini Singh (565), marking a double delight for the team.
Bhaker, who had a qualification score of 583, also helped India secure a team bronze in the women’s air pistol event with reigning Asian Games champion Palak (573) and Suruchi Singh (574). Both Palak and Suruchi narrowly missed the individual final by three and two points, respectively.
In the final, Bhaker was fifth after her first five-shot series and fourth after the second. A 10.5 on her 11th shot moved her into second place behind Ma Qianke, and despite Ma pulling ahead, Bhaker held her nerve to outshoot Korea’s Jiin Yang and Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan, ultimately claiming bronze.
In the junior women’s final, Rashmika and Han Seunghyun battled intensely. Rashmika overtook her rival after the 13th shot and never looked back, sealing her victory with a 10.9 on the 15th shot.
Since Monday, India’s shooters have already amassed an individual bronze, a team silver, and a team bronze across senior men’s and women’s 10m air pistol events. The junior category has seen India sweep the individual golds, with Kapil Bainsla winning on Monday, followed by Rashmika Sahgal. While Kapil added a team silver, Rashmika completed a golden double with her teammates in the junior women’s team event.
Other notable performances included Jonathan Gavin Antony winning bronze in the junior men’s air pistol, Girish Gupta securing gold in the youth men’s air pistol, and Dev Pratap claiming bronze in the same category. The youth men’s team also took home gold.
Overall, India’s medal tally now stands at five gold, two silver, and four bronze.
