Dominance defined Day 4 of the Asian Rifle/Pistol Championship in New Delhi, where India’s shooters added 10 golds to their haul, reaching 43 medals total. Olympian Ilavaniyal Valarivan delivered a masterclass in women’s 10m air rifle, defeating Japan’s Misaki Nobata by a whisker. Junior star Shambhavi Kheersagar etched her name in history with a new Asian junior record en route to gold.
At Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range, the air was thick with excitement. Ilavaniyal, slipping to fifth early, rallied with steely nerves. By the 18th shot, she had the lead, sealing it with flawless precision – ten perfect 10s averaging 10.6, highlighted by a 10.9. Nobata’s late surge fell short despite 10.8 closers. Meghana Sajjanar snagged bronze, while the Indian team triumphed with 1892.6.
Shambhavi’s junior final was poetry in motion. Her 253.7 score broke the 253.1 record from Jakarta 2024. Strong from shot one, she outpaced Manyata Singh by four points. Anisha Sharma’s 227.5 earned silver, and their team gold came at 1884.2 with Sandrata Roy. Ojaswi Thakur led youth women to gold alongside Anvi Vikram Rathod and Hrdaya Sri Kondur at 1890.6.
Pistol events were India’s playground. Saurabh Chaudhary’s 563-12x gold headed a sweep: Kamaljeet silver, Ravinder bronze in men’s 50m. Team gold followed. Yogesh Kumar’s junior gold (557-10x) and Guntajpreet Singh’s bronze rounded out the haul. Manyata and Anisha contributed to junior women’s sweep.
This haul underscores India’s shooting renaissance, blending experience and youth for unbeatable results. As medals pile up, eyes turn to Paris Olympics potential.