Sarabjot Singh executed a thrilling finish after a dominant performance in topping men’s air pistol in the sixth National shooting selection trials at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Tuesday.
The 20-year-old Sarabjot beat former national champion Dharmendra Singh Gaharwar 17-15 after having led 7-1 in the early stage of the gold match. Dharmendra fought back brilliantly to take a 11-9 lead and was on par at 13 and 15, before Sarabjot beat him 10.4 to 10.3 on the last shot.
Sarabjot had topped qualification with 586 and made it to the gold match with 255.6, nearly four points better than his rival Dharmendra. With scores being reset to zero, as per the new format in the fresh Olympic cycle, it was a lively climax for the sparse gathering.
Amanrpreet Singh who had shot the second best score of 585 in qualification finished fifth.
World Cup gold medallists Abhishek Verma (578) and Jitu Rai (575) were some of the leading shooters who failed to make it to the second stage. Former world No.1 and Asian Games gold medallist Saurabh Chaudhary skipped the event after having shot the fifth trial.
In the junior section, Naved Chaudhary beat Abhinav Deshwal 16-12 to top the event. Naved had toppsed the second stage with 253.8, more than three points than that of Naved, who pipped Udhayveer Sidhu by 0.1 point to be eligible for the gold contest. In fact, Abhinav led 8-0 before Naved found his grip on the final for a memorable finish.
In the youth section, Samrat Rana came good, beating Abhinav Choudhary 16-14.
The results:
10m air pistol:
Men: 1. Sarabjot Singh 17 (255.6) 586; 2. Dharmendra Singh Gaharwar 15 (251.8) 582; 3. Arjun Singh Cheema 248.5 (583); 4. Pradhyumn Singh 248.0 (582).
Juniors: 1. Naved Chaudhary 16 (250.3) 583; 2. Abhinav Deshwal 12 (253.8) 583; 3. Udhayveer Sidhu 250.2 (580); 4. Pradhyumn Singh 25.1 (582).
Youth: 1. Samrat Rana 16 (250.8) 581; 2. Abhinav Choudhary 14 (252.0) 579; 3. Sandeep Bishnoi 249.4 (580); 4. Amit Sharma 247.4 (579).
