Manisha Keer and Bhowneesh Mendiratta Shine in Shotgun National Selection Trials
Outstanding Performances at the Shotgun National Selection Trials
New Delhi, February 5: In a remarkable display of skill, Manisha Keer and Bhowneesh Mendiratta clinched the top positions in the women's and men's Trap T1 categories during the Shotgun National Selection Trials 1&2 at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range on Thursday.
Manisha dominated the women's finals, hitting 27 targets, surpassing Neeru Dhanda, who managed 25 hits. Aashima Ahlawat secured third place with 20 hits.
In the qualification rounds, Kirti Gupta led with a score of 118 but finished seventh in the finals. Rajeshwari Kumari and Aashima Ahlawat both scored 114, while Preeti Rajak qualified with 113. Manisha Keer followed with 110, and Neeru Dhanda, Varsha Varman, and Shagun Chowdhary rounded out the top eight with scores of 109, 107, and 106, respectively.
Bhowneesh triumphed in the men's finals, narrowly defeating Prithviraj Tondaiman with a score of 28-27. Vivaan Kapoor, a World Cup Final 2024 medallist, took third place with 23 hits.
During the qualification, Kynan Chenai topped the charts with a score of 122, followed by Prithviraj at 120. Vivaan and Ahvar Rizvi both scored 119, while Bhowneesh, Arshad Hasan Khan, Ali Aman Elahi, and Udaivir Singh Jaijee finished with 118. Notably, World Championship bronze medallist Zoravar Singh Sandhu also scored 118 but did not make the top eight due to a tie-breaker.
In the junior men's finals, Zuhair Khan emerged victorious with a score of 27, leading by three hits over Lakshya Atree, who finished with 23. Navjeet Bishnoi secured third place with 18 hits. Manitwa Singh Rawat led the qualification with 120 but ended up in eighth place. Vinay Pratap Singh qualified second with 118, followed by Zuhair Khan at 117. Udhav Singh Rathore and Arjun scored 114, while Lakshya Atree and Syed Ahyaan Ali followed with 113. Navjeet Bishnoi completed the top eight with 112.
In the women's junior finals, Sabeera Haris topped the competition, narrowly defeating Addya Katyal 25-24. Addya had previously led the qualification with a score of 114. Ishika Bhardwaj finished third with 19 hits after scoring 103 in qualification. Sabeera qualified second with 112, while Darshna Rathore (111), Bhavya Tripathi (109), Tanisska Senthilkumar (108), Tanisha Singh Chandrawat (104), and Nilaa Rajaa Baalu (103) completed the top eight.