Shooting World C'ship: Manavjit misses out on final; Rahi, Anisa disappoint

Indian shooters failed to impress on the third day of competitions in the 51st Shooting World Championship as trap ace Manavjit Singh Sandhu missed out on a final berth by a whisker while Rahi Sarnabot and Anisa Sayyed disappointed in women’s 25-m pistol here today. Former world champion Manavjit, having produced excellent shooting over the past couple of days, lost in the shoot-out after managing 23 in the last qualification. Sources close to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) claimed that the Indian shooters, including Manavjit, were made to shift to a different hotel last night due to a strike in the place where they had checked in on arrival. [caption id=“attachment_1706577” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former world champion Manavjit, having produced excellent shooting over the past couple of days, lost in the shoot-out after managing 23 in the last qualification. AFP[/caption] “There was a strike in the hotel in which we had checked in first. That is why the shooters were given accommodation in a different hotel by the tournament organisers,” a NRAI official said. The World Cup winner and Commonwealth Games medallist had shot 25 each in four rounds on day 1 and 2 at the CEAR Juan Carlos I shooting range. In women’s 25-metre pistol, Rahi proved to be a disappointment as she shot 579 for 21st-place finish in the qualifying, while Anisa was a shade better at 14th with a score of 581. The team of Manavjit, Kynan Chenai and Prithviraj Tondaiman was placed eighth after they totalled 361 in men’s trap. The team comprising Anisa, Rahi and Pushpanjali Rana was positioned seventh with a total score of 1728. The juniors, including the likes of Manavaditya Rathore, Abhay Singh Rathore and Adhiraj Rathore, too could not impress. Lucknow boy Jitu Rai had yesterday become the first Indian shooter to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics after bagging a quota place with an impressive silver medal-finish. The 25-year-old Army marksman bagged the white metal in men’s 50-metre pistol event. PTI