Manini, Aishwary top 50m rifle prone on opening day of Group A National Selection Trials

New Delhi [India], January 19 (ANI): The first day of the Rifle/Pistol National Selection Trials 1&2 (Group A) at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range saw strong early statements in the 50m rifle prone events, with Rajasthan's Manini Kaushik and world championship silver medalist in 50m rifle 3P, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finishing on top of the women's and men's fields respectively in Selection Trial 1 on Monday.
Manini Kaushik topped the women's 50m rifle prone T1 with a total of 625.0, built on a composed and balanced series-by-series performance with 104.7, 104.2, 102.3, 104.6, 104.2, and 105. Karnataka's Tilottama Sen finished second with 622.6, while Kerala's Vidarsa K Vinod followed in third on 622.0, as per a press release from the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
The depth of competition was evident with just 0.4 separating the athletes placed fifth to eighth. Jharkhand's Supriya Kumari (621.7) finished fourth, ahead of the current national champion Priya of the Army Marksmanship Unit (620.7). Haryana's Nischal (620.6), Madhya Pradesh's Ashi Chouksey (620.5) and Punjab's Sift Kaur Samra (620.4) rounded off the top eight.
In the men's 50m rifle prone Trials 1, Aishwary Pratap stamped his authority early, finishing at the top with an impressive 629.6. The 50m 3P national champion combined a high opening series with a controlled finish to create a clear buffer of 3.2 at the top with 105.3, 105.4, 105.7, 104.9, 103.7, and 104.6.
Former world champion Akhil Sheoran claimed second place with 626.4, while current national champion Swapnil Kusale finished third with 625.3. Army shooters Nishan Budha (623.8) and Chain Singh (622.9) followed behind on fourth and fifth, respectively. Navy's Nikhil Tanwar (621.9), Army's Babu Singh Panwar (621.6) and Navy shooter Niraj Kumar (620.6) completed the top eight.
In T1 of 25m Rapid Fire Pistol, Omkar Singh of the Navy leads the lineup after Stage 1 of qualification with a score of 295-14x, while Bhavesh Shekhawat of Rajasthan and Ankur Goel of Uttar Pradesh are in second and third with scores of 292-9x and 291-10x respectively. World Championship silver medallist Anish Bhanwala shot 286-12x and is currently in seventh place. The second stage and T1 finals will be held tomorrow.
The finals of 50m Rifle 3 Positions (T1) for both men and women will also be held tomorrow, along with the T2 finals of 50m rifle prone events. (ANI)