In a nail-biting finale at the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar showcased his nerves of steel to secure the gold medal in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. Competing at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, Tomar delivered a stunning 10.7 on his final shot, edging out teammate Neeraj Kumar by a mere 0.2 points.
Neeraj, who was making his international debut with this first individual medal, held a slender lead heading into the last shot after scoring 10.3. This set a challenging target of 10.6 for Tomar, but the world championship silver medalist rose to the occasion, firing a perfect 10.7 to clinch victory with a total of 362.0. Neeraj settled for silver at 361.8, while Akhil Sheoran grabbed bronze with 343.5.
The Indian dominance continued in the junior men’s final, where Adran Karmakar cruised to gold with 353.2, well ahead of Kazakhstan’s Dmitry Kim. Manvendrasinh Shekhawat added another bronze for India with 338.6.
Earlier in qualification, Neeraj topped the charts with 593-34x, followed closely by Tomar (588-40x) and Sheoran (588-32x). The trio’s efforts also earned India the team gold, leaving Japan and Kazakhstan with silver and bronze respectively.
Tomar’s triumph marks a fitting highlight in India’s clean sweep on Thursday, bolstered by Sheoran’s earlier bronze. Rudrankk Patil, fresh off a 10m air rifle gold, posted the second-best qualification score of 591-33x but competed only for ranking points, as did Nikhil Tanwar with 587-29x.
Karmakar’s second gold of the championship came after he took the lead from the sixth shot in the junior final, maintaining a commanding margin. Shekhawat’s bronze was a strong performance, though teammate Hemant Burman finished fifth after a shoot-off loss.
This event underscores India’s rising prowess in shooting, with multiple medals reinforcing their status as a global force.