Shooting Glory for India: Anish Bhanwala Shines at Asian Championships

Shooting Glory for India in Shymkent

Shymkent (Kazakhstan), Aug 27 (PTI) - India's shooting prodigy Anish Bhanwala showcased his prowess in the rapid fire pistol event once again, claiming the silver medal at the Asian Shooting Championships on Wednesday. The 22-year-old Olympian narrowly missed out on gold, finishing just one point behind China’s Su Lianbofan, who secured the top spot. The bronze medal went to Korea’s Lee Jaekyoon.

Bhanwala had started strong, holding a one-point lead after the first four series, but ultimately slipped to second place. Fellow Indian shooter, Adarsh Singh, earned a commendable fifth place in the competition. Bhanwala, the 2018 Commonwealth Games gold medallist, initially positioned himself sixth after the precision round with a score of 290. However, he delivered an impressive 293 in the rapid fire round, boosting him to fourth with a total of 583 points.

Heading into the six-man final, Bhanwala had an 18-17 lead over Su Lianbofan but faltered slightly, missing a crucial shot in the last three series, allowing the 20-year-old Chinese competitor—who recently won silver at the World Cup in Lima, Peru—to seize victory.

Bhanwala improved on his previous performance at the Asian Championships in Changwon, Korea, where he won bronze two years ago. On Tuesday, the Indian trio of Bhanwala (583), Adarsh Singh (585), and Neeraj Kumar (570) tallied 1738 points to secure a team silver, with South Korea taking gold with 1748.

In the non-Olympic men's 50m pistol event, the Indian team comprising Amanpreet Singh (543), Yogesh Kumar (548), and Ravinder Singh (542) earned silver with an aggregate score of 1633. Iran took gold with 1652, while South Korea claimed bronze with 1619. Individually, Yogesh Kumar finished fourth, Amanpreet Singh tenth, and Ravinder Singh eleventh.

In the mixed team trap, veterans Kynan Chenai and Aashima Ahlawat finished just off the podium, losing the bronze-medal match to Kazakhstan's Alisher Aisalbayev and Aizhan Dosmagabetova 38-34. China took gold by defeating Kuwait 43-39.

China currently leads the senior medal tally with 27 medals, including 15 golds, while India follows closely with 23 medals, nine of which are gold.

Junior Successes Add to Tally

In junior events, the men's 50m pistol team, consisting of Abhinav Choudhary (541), Umesh Choudhary (529), and Mukesh Nelavalli (523), clinched gold with an aggregate score of 1593, defeating Kazakhstan, who totaled 1580, in a two-team contest. Individually, Abhinav Choudhary finished fourth.

In the junior trap mixed team event, India's Arya Vansh Tyagi and Bhavya Tripathi secured a silver medal after a narrow loss to Kazakhstan, finishing 37-38 in the final.

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