Ramita Jindal Shines at National Games: Sets New Benchmark in Women's Air Rifle

Ramita Jindal from Haryana topped the women's 10m Air Rifle qualifiers at the 38th National Games, scoring 634.9. She surpassed major international competitors including Korea's Ban Hyo-jin. As the final approaches, Jindal leads a skilled lineup of eight competitors vying for top honors.

Ramita Jindal, representing Haryana, delivered an extraordinary performance in the women's 10m Air Rifle qualification at the 38th National Games, setting a new standard with a score of 634.9. Her achievement at the newly inaugurated Trishul Shooting Range outpaced international competitor Ban Hyo-jin from Korea, who scored 634.5 during the qualification rounds of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. In the 2023 World Championships held in Baku, Mehuli Ghosh also scored 634.5 to lead the qualifications, as reported by the National Games press release.

Jindal's score gave her a decisive edge over the second-place Arya Borse from Maharashtra with 0.4 points, while Narmada Raju from Tamil Nadu trailed close behind in third by a margin of 0.1 points. Vidarsa K Vinod from Kerala, who at one point led the competition, finished fourth with 633.0 points. The threshold for the Olympic final qualification was secured with a score of 631.3. Other finalists include Shreya Agarwal from Madhya Pradesh, Elavenil Valarivan from Gujarat, Meghana Sajjanar from Karnataka, and Manyata Singh from Odisha. The tension is mounting as these formidable shooters prepare for Thursday's decisive final.

In the men's competition, Punjab's Vijayveer Singh Sidhu excelled in the Rapid Fire Pistol category with a score of 587, which could have qualified him for the Olympic final had it been achieved in Paris, where he previously shot 583. Other contenders like Anish Bhanwala from Haryana, Neeraj Kumar from Services, and Bhavesh Shekhawat from Rajasthan, along with fellow Services members Omkar Singh and Gurpreet Singh, completed the lineup of finalists. Despite his credentials, Vijay Kumar, the London 2012 Olympic silver medalist, narrowly missed out on the finals following a less-than-ideal final series. His chances were diminished as a result of shooting 90 instead of the required 94 in the crucial four-second series in the final qualification stage.

(With inputs from agencies.)