Rahi Sarnobat claims top spot, Manu Bhaker second in women’s 25m pistol T4 finals

New Delhi, June 8 (IANS) Former Asian Games champion Rahi Sarnobat delivered a strong performance to clinch the women’s 25m pistol T4 finals at the National Selection Trials 4 for Group A Rifle and Pistol shooters, held at the Trishul Shooting Range in Maharana Pratap Sports College, Dehradun, on Monday.

Olympian Rahi appeared in control during the final and ended with 37 hits, securing the top position comfortably. Manu Bhaker, a two-time Olympic medalist, earned silver with 35 hits, and Karnataka’s Divya T.S. took bronze with 29 hits.

Tamil Nadu’s Niveditha V. Nair finished fourth with 24 hits, followed by Olympian Rhythm Sangwan in fifth with 22 hits. Punjab’s Arshdeep Kaur secured sixth place with 18 hits. Maharashtra’s Abhidnya Ashok Patil claimed seventh with 13 hits, while Madhya Pradesh’s Chinki Yadav, who led qualifiers with a score of 586-22x, ended in eighth with nine hits.

During qualification, Manu Bhaker secured second place with a score of 584-16x. Arshdeep Kaur and Rahi Sarnobat finished third and fourth, scoring 579-20x and 579-18x, respectively. Niveditha V. Nair qualified fifth with 579-12x. Rhythm Sangwan and Divya T.S. both scored 578-16x, with Sangwan ranked higher on countback. Abhidnya Patil achieved the last qualifying spot with 576-15x.

In the national rankings, world record holder and ISSF World Cup 2026 Munich gold medalist Esha Singh maintained her top spot despite not participating in the trials, with Manu remaining in second. Rahi advanced to third, exchanging positions with Divya, who fell to fourth. Rhythm stays fifth, while Chinki Yadav moved up from ninth to sixth following her qualification performance.

The T4 Rifle/Pistol trials are vital for the Asian Games, as 15 men and 15 women shooters will represent India in 28 shooting events in Aichi-Nagoya later this year. The 12-member shotgun team has already been named, while the rifle and pistol squads will be finalised following the ongoing trials.

Action will resume on Tuesday with four finals scheduled, including the men’s and women’s 10m air pistol events and the men’s and women’s 50m rifle 3-position competitions.

–IANS

vi/