By Anukriti Srivastava
Dehradun, Jan 31: World junior champion Parth Mane showcased remarkable skill and composure to clinch the men’s 10m air rifle gold at the 38th National Games, here, today. His teammate Rudranksh Patil secured the silver medal, ensuring a 1-2 finish for Maharashtra, while Kiran Jadhav from Services took home the bronze.
The 17-year-old Mane delivered an impressive performance throughout the final. He maintained the lead for most of the competition, only briefly losing it in one round. However, he quickly regained his composure and remained calm under pressure, even while competing against more experienced shooters.
Despite hitting a couple of lower scores—9.9 and 10.0—Mane didn’t let that shake his confidence. He rebounded strongly, achieving six scores of 10.7 or higher in the following ten rounds. His main challenge came from Rudranksh, who kept the competition fierce. After 20 shots, Rudranksh was just 0.6 points behind Mane, making the contest thrilling until the very end.
In the final four shots, Rudranksh scored 42.2 points, making a strong effort to surpass Mane. But Mane responded excellently with 42.4 points, including two nearly perfect shots of 10.8 and 10.7. This performance secured him the gold medal with a final score of 252.6 points, which was 0.4 points higher than the winning score at the Paris 2024 Olympics in the same event.
While Mane was consistent throughout, Rudranksh shone during the elimination rounds with his impressive shooting. Notably, Rudranksh had previously earned India an Olympic quota by winning the World Championships in 2022.
Meanwhile, Punjab’s Arjun Babuta was in a strong position after 16 shots, but a couple of 10.4 scores dropped him to fourth place. Jadhav, who had been trailing in fourth for most of the final, clinched his bronze medal with a crucial 10.8 shot under pressure in the 20th round.
Other notable performances included Paarth Makhija from Delhi, who secured fifth place, and Sandeep Singh from Services, a Paris 2024 Olympian, who finished in sixth. Hriday Hazarika from Assam, a former World Junior Champion, had an opportunity to take advantage of an early mistake by Sandeep (who scored 9.8 during the elimination rounds) but couldn’t make a significant impact.
The 38th National Games in Uttarakhand have been a significant boost for Indian shooting. National para shooting coach Subhash Rana commended the state-of-the-art infrastructure, describing the Shooting Range as one of the finest in the country due to its modern equipment and facilities.
He also mentioned that hosting the National Games in Uttarakhand has accelerated the state’s sports development by 20 years. The competition has already seen record-breaking performances, with shooters setting new national records on the very first day.
With emerging talents like Parth Mane stepping up and showing composure under pressure, Indian shooting continues to strengthen, establishing new benchmarks in both national and international competitions.
