He has won the title numerous times, but this was special as the former World champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu beat Raninder Singh, the president of the National Rifle Association of India, 14-13 for gold in the 60th National shotgun championships here on Saturday.
After the disappointment of missing the trap final in the Olympics and the subsequent criticism that he had not been at his best in four Olympics, the six-time Asian champion Manavjit put things together to focus on the simple task of shooting good.
But as coach Marcello Dradi pointed out, only Zorawar Singh Sandhu shot 121, while the next best was 118, which does not speak highly of the performance of the country’s best shooters, competing in a strong field of 184.
However, there was no dearth of competition, especially from Raninder, who managed to defend the silver medal won in the last edition.
“No chance,” said Manavjit, when teased whether he wanted to concede the title to the chief of the federation. Manavjit was all praise for Raninder, who got past Prithviraj Tondaiman 2-1 in the shoot-off to make the knock-out phase after being tied on 116 for the last berth.
Manavjit, in fact, was so competitive that he was able to catch the referee M. Padmanabhan that he did not get the right sequence when he missed the seventh bird in the gold match. After the repeat of a series of birds to get the sequence and scoreboard right, Manavjit shot 10 birds on the trot, before missing the 11th.
Raninder had missed the eighth and 12th, which virtually gave the gold to Manavjit even as both finished strongly.
For someone who rarely gets to shoot and train, Raninder made a statement with his gun, as he went after each target with intensity.
Kynan Chenai earned the distinction of being presented the bronze medal by his father, the defending champion, Darius Chenai, who had shot 109 and lost the race.
“I win the gold once in eight years. That is good for me,” said Darius, recalling his two national championship gold medals won in 2008 and 2015.
Interestingly, there was not much change in the members on the podium, as Manavjit had won bronze last time, and Kynan replaced his dad, while Raninder retained the silver.
“It is tough after the Olympics, and you need to pace yourself,” said the experienced Manavjit who has won two World Cup gold medals.
Zoravar and Birendeep Sodhi, who had done the best in qualification, failed to progress to the medal rounds, after both lost the shoot-off for the bronze medal match, after being tied on 10 with Kynan and Adhiraj.
“In the final, you should at least shoot 12,” said Dradi, quite concerned about the low scores.
In the junior section, Lakshay Sheoran, did his coach Paramjeet Singh Sodhi proud by winning the gold for the second time in the space of three years, as he beat Manavaditya Singh Rathore, in the shoot-off after the two were tied on 13 in the gold match.
Manavaditya missed the bird and Lakshay punched the air in celebration after nailing his target. Akash Saharan, who missed the gold match by one point, clinched the bronze by outclassing Vibhu Sharma 13-9.
The results: Trap: Men: 1. Manavjit Singh Sandhu 14 (12) 117; 2. Raninder Singh 13 (12) 116(2); 3. Kynan Chenai 14 (10)4 (117); 4. Adhiraj Singh Rathore 12 (10)4 (117).
Team: 1. Air India 345, 2. Rajasthan 339, 3. Punjab 334.
Junior men: 1. Lakshay Sheoran 13 (12) 110; 2. Manavaditya Singh Rathore 13 (12) 112; 3. Akash Saharan 13 (11) 109; 4. Vibhu Sharma 9 (9) 109.
Team: 1. Rajasthan 327; 2. Haryana 306, 3. Madhya Pradesh 305.
