India shooters bag triple air-pistol medals in World University Championship

India's shooters opened the World University Championship with a remarkable start, claiming three medals in the 10m air pistol events. Aakash Bhardwaj and Palak secured silver, while Arshdeep Kaur added a bronze in a thrilling competition.

In Short

• Aakash missed gold by one point to Czech’s Pavel Schejbal
• Palak secured silver with a close 239.1-point final tally
• Liu Heng-Yiu narrowly defeated Palak in a tight final showdown

India’s Aakash Bhardwaj and Palak clinched silver in the 10m air pistol event for men and women, respectively, as the hosts bagged three medals on the opening day of the World University Shooting Championship here on Saturday. Arshdeep Kaur added to the tally with a bronze behind Palak at the Karni Singh Shooting Range.

Aakash shot 579 in the qualification round, securing second place going into the final, while two other Indians, Samrat Rana and Amit Sharma, also advanced to the eight-shooter final with scores of 577 and 576, respectively. Czech Republic’s Pavel Schejbal topped the qualification with an impressive score of 586.

In the final, Aakash delivered a tough challenge to Pavel, narrowly missing the gold by a single point. Pavel scored 239.8, while Aakash tallied 238.8. Amit and Samrat finished in sixth and seventh place, respectively. Filip Wagner took the bronze.

In the women’s 10m air pistol event, three Indian shooters—Sainyam (576), Arshdeep (574), and Palak (573)—qualified for the final in third, fourth, and fifth positions, respectively. Chinese Taipei’s Liu Heng-Yiu led the qualification with a score of 578.

The final was closely contested, with Liu winning the gold by a fraction of a point, tallying 239.4 to Palak’s 239.1. Arshdeep secured the bronze with a score of 219, while Sainyam finished in sixth place.

The championship sees participation from 220 shooters across 23 countries and is hosted by Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies.