Youngster Esha shoots gold in U-17 air pistol

The 14-year-old Esha Singh shot 241.3 in the final to beat Anushka Patil by 6.6 points.

Anushka Patil (left), champion Esha Singh, Sharvari Bhoir who won the medals in the women's under-17 air pistol in the Khelo India Youth Games in Pune on Tuesday.

Esha Singh outclassed the women’s under-17 field in winning the air pistol gold in the Khelo India Youth Games at the Balewadi Sports Complex here on Tuesday.

National champion in the women’s, junior and youth events, Esha was not challenged much in the absence of Manu Bhaker who had opted to prepare for the World Cup.

After qualifying for the final in the third place with a modest 565, the 14-year-old Esha shot 241.3 in the final to beat Anushka Patil by 6.6 points.

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In contrast, Harshada NIthave won the women’s under-21 gold with a 0.7 point margin over Yuvika Tomar.

In the men’s under-21 rifle 3-position final, Sartaj Singh Tiwana shot 447.2 to beat Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar by 0.1 point for the gold, despite a 9.1 last shot.

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In men’s skeet, Ayush Rudraraju led with 71 out of 75, while Anantjeet Singh Naruka (69), Gurnihal Singh Garcha (65) and Abhay Singh Sekhon (65) followed him. Two more rounds on the morrow will be followed by the final for the top six.

In women’s skeet, Areeba Khan led with 67, three points ahead of Simranpreet Kaur Johal and Darshana Rathore.

The results: Air pistol: Women under-21: 1. Harshada Nithave 236.3 (561); 2. Yuvika Tomar 235.6 (559); 3. Sweta Devi 211.8 (559). Women under-17: 1. Esha Singh 241.3 (565); 2. Anushka Patil 234.7 (569); 3. Sharvari Bhoir 213.6 (560). 50m rifle 3-position: Men under-21: 1. Sartaj Singh Tiwana 447.2; 2. Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar 447.1; 3. Harshit Binjwa 436.1.