BHOPAL: Top Indian shooter Manu Bhaker clinched the women's 25m pistol title on the opening day of the National Rifle/Pistol Selection Trials 3 and 4 on Thursday.
Other winners on the day included Arjun Babuta in men's 10m air rifle and Ashi Chouksey in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions.
These trials assumed significance from the perspective of Indian team selection for important events like the World Championships and the Asian Games.
The junior shooters will also be vying for places in the Junior World Cup and Junior World Championships squads.
Bhaker outgunned local favourite Chinki Yadav 31-29 in the medal match to clinch the title. She had won a World Cup bronze at the same MP State Shooting Academy Range here.
Rhythm Sangwan won bronze through a shoot-off with Neha. Rhythm had topped the qualifying stage with 583 ahead of Bhaker (580), with Chinki qualifying sixth with 577.
However, Bhaker proved to be the best on the day when it mattered most.
In the men's 10m air rifle T3, Punjab's Babuta overcame Railways' Akhil Sheoran 16-6 in the gold medal match. The two had entered the gold shoot-out after finishing 1-2 in the ranking round.
Babuta was in scintillating form, topping the qualifying round with 634.5.
The national record stands in the name of Rudrankksh Patil (633.2). However, scores at trials are not considered for records.
In the women's 50m rifle 3 positions, hosts Madhya Pradesh won gold when Chouksey defeated Odisha's Shriyanka Sadangi 16-10.
It was a pillar to post effort from the local girl as she topped the qualifying round with 589 and then the ranking round as well with a score of 407.3.
Among the juniors who won on the day were Dhanush Srikanth (men's 10m air rifle men) and Nikita Kundu (women's 50m rifle 3 positions).
