Olympic shooting trials: Manu, Anish on course for second successive win

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Olympians Manu Bhaker and Anish Bhanwala remained on course for a second successive win in the ongoing Olympic Selection Trials 1&2, topping their respective qualification rounds here at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range near here on Sunday.
 

Manu shot an aggregate of 585 in the Women’s 25M Pistol OST T2 qualification, to lead the five-woman field into the finals in pole position. The Olympian had won the T1 trials on Saturday.

Esha Singh followed her in second spot with a 581, while Simranpreet Kaur Brar was third with 577. Abhidnya Ashok Patil with 572 and Rhythm Sangwan, the second Paris Olympic quota holder in the field along with Manu, with 566, brought up the rear.

In the Men’s 25M Rapid-Fire Pistol (RFP) OST T2, odds-on favourite Anish Bhanwala continued to dominate the proceedings, topping the qualification round with a score of 582. His fellow Paris quota-holder Vijayveer Sidhu was second with 580, while Bhavesh Shekhawat was third on the same score as Vijayveer, but with lesser inner 10s.

Ankur Goel (573) and Adarsh Singh (571), barring a miracle in the final two trials in Bhopal, look out of the reckoning already.

As things stand, Manu and Esha in the women’s pistol and Anish and Vijayveer in the men’s RFP look the more likely to take the flight to Paris from these events.

All the finals, and with them the crucial podium points, will be held on Monday.

--IANS

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