Aishwary Tomar, 18, emerged victorious in the seniors’ category in the 11th RR Lakshya Cup 2019 Invitation Air Rifle Tournament, staged at the Karnala Sports Academy in Navi Mumbai.
The Madhya Pradesh shooter, who won the Olympic quota place in 50m Rifle 3 Position earlier this year, was trailing Yash Vardhan in the first 10 shots.
Consistent scores of 10.7 and 10.8 and even one 10.9 helped Tomar surge to victory with a final tally of 252.3. Vardhan, 16-year-old from Rajasthan, finished second with 250.7, while Assam’s Hriday Hazarika, a Lakshya Shooting Club trainee, finished third. The champion became richer by ₹1 lakh.
Confidence up
Tomar, receiving a silver cup, said: “The confidence after securing the Olympic quota place has increased. The Lakshya Cup is a follow through match after the Senior National Championships and helped me stay in the competitive atmosphere. I don’t go to any competition thinking of winning a medal. To me, it is about giving your best.”
Tomar had won the second place last year in the event, competing in the juniors’ category. Last year’s seniors’ winner Divyansh Singh Panwar finished fifth. “The expectation of defending the title was high here. As all the shooters are of the same, tough level, the pressure is very high.”
He also secured the Olympic quota place in the men’s 10m air rifle and is the ISSF Golden Target award-winner for ending the season as World No. 1.
Founder of the Lakshya Shooting Club and the first coach of co-founder Suma Shirur, Olympian and current India junior rifle team High Performance coach, Dronacharya awardee Sanjay Chakravarthy was felicitated. India junior rifle team chief coach, Deepali Deshpande, also an Olympian, was among the dignitaries.
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