Shotgun selection trials: Anirudh Singh beats Lakshay Sheoran in final

Anirudh Singh beat the Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran 46-45 in the men’s trap final.

Lakshay Sheoran went down to former champion Anirudh Singh in the trap final.

Former National champion Anirudh Singh beat the Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran 46-45 in the men’s trap final in the sixth Shotgun selection trials that concluded recently in Bhopal.

With the top shooters having opted out of the trails, as they had already consolidated their position in the national squad, it was a chance for the rest to sharpen their ability to negotiate the final.

Former World champion Manavaditya Singh Rathore, Olympian Kynan Chenai and Prithviraj Tondaiman stayed at the top three in the national averages that would be considered for finalising the team for the Asian Championship to be held in Doha in November.

The Asian Championship will offer the final set of Olympic quota places for Tokyo 2020.

In women’s trap, Rajeshwari Kumari further strengthened her case by topping the final 41-39 ahead of former National champion Shreyasi Singh. Kirti Gupta followed in the third place.

Rajeshwari, who had shot the best among all the women in qualification in the last World Cup in Rio, looked to have secured her berth in the national team, along with Kirti Gupta and Soumya Gupta.

Shreyasi Singh, Manisha Keer, Olympian Shagun Chowdhary, Pragati Dubey and World Cup silver medallist Seema Tomar were in the fourth to eighth spots on the basis of the averages released by the National federation.

Mohd. Sheeraz Sheikh topped men’s skeet, but he was placed fifth in the averages. Asian champion Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Smit Singh and Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan were occupying the top three slots, while Anant Jeet Singh Naruka was fourth.

In women’s skeet, Ganemat Sekhon not only climbed to the top in the trials, but also in the averages for the national selection. She was followed by former National champion Saniya sheikh and Khelo India Youth Games champion Darshna Rathore.

Areeba Khan who was part of the national team recently, was sixth ahead of former national champion Rashmmi Rathore, while the reigning national champion Maheshwari Chauhan found herself in the ninth spot.

The results: Men: Trap: 1. Anirudh Singh 46 (120); 2. Lakshay Sheoran 45 (118); 3. Adhiraj Singh Rathore 34 (115). Juniors: 1. Vivaan Kapoor 47 (117); 2. Shardul Vihan 46 (117); 3. Manavaditya Singh Rathore 32 (108). Skeet: 1. Mohd Sheeraz Sheikh 56 (120); 2. Kuldeep Sanyashi 55 (111); 3. Mairaj Ahmad Khan 46 (121). Juniors: 1. Abhay Singh Sekhon 51 (108); 2. Arjun Thakur 49 (111); 3. Bhavtegh Singh Gill 40 (107). Women: Trap: 1. Rajeshwari Kumari 41 (112); 2. Shreyasi Singh 39 (116); 3. Kirti Gupta 31 (113). Juniors: 1. Aadya Tripathi 42 (1040; 2. Kirti Gupta 40 (113); 3. Varda Sharma 32 (100). Skeet: 1. Ganemat Sekhon 53(2) 120; 2. Areeba Khan 53(1) 112; 3. Darshna Rathore 43 (116). Juniors: 1. Areeba Khan 53 (112); 2. Darshna Rathore 51 (116); 3. Karttiki Singh Shaktawat 41 (110).