By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 31 Jan: World Junior Champion Parth Mane clinched the gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle event at the ongoing National Games at the Trishul Shooting Range. Rudraksh Patil, also from Maharashtra, secured the silver medal, while Kiran Jadhav, representing Services, took home the bronze.
Parth Mane, 17, maintained his lead from the start, with the exception of one series during the final. Despite competing against seasoned shooters, he remained confident and composed. Even though he scored 9.9 and 10.0 in the 12th and 14th shots, he hit 10.7 or higher in six of the next 10 shots.
When Rudraksh Patil closed the gap to 0.6 points after 20 shots, Parth Mane exhibited remarkable composure under pressure. Patil scored 42.2 in his last four shots, but Mane responded with 42.4 points, including impressive shots of 10.8 and 10.7.
Mane’s outstanding shooting skills were evident as he won the gold with a score of 252.6 points, 0.4 points higher than the gold medal-winning performance by Sheng Lihao of China at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. While Mane maintained a steady lead throughout the final, Patil’s brave performance under pressure caught everyone’s attention.
Rudraksh Patil, who secured an Olympic quota for India at the 2022 World Championships, admitted that the thought of finishing fourth did cross his mind. However, he kept his focus and executed each shot brilliantly.
Arjun Babuta of Punjab, who was leading after 16 shots, finished fourth with a score of 10.4. Fourth-placed Kiran Jadhav shot 10.8 under pressure in the 20th shot to edge out the Paris 2024 Olympian for the bronze medal.
Delhi’s Parth Makhija, who finished fourth in the qualification, ended up fifth in the final. 2024 Olympic participant Sandeep Singh of Services finished sixth, while his teammate Sandeep finished seventh. 2018 World Junior Champion Hriday Hazarika of Assam could not capitalise on the opportunity he received after Sandeep’s 9.8 in the opening round.
