Jitu Rai Upset by Jai Singh for 50m Pistol Gold at National Shooting
Jitu Rai had made it to the eight-man final of the 50m pistol event on top of the qualifying board with a score of 559. Jai Singh had logged 546 to qualify in sixth position, but turned the tables on his more famous team-mate in the finals.
Ace shooter Jitu Rai met his match on Thursday as fellow army man Jai Singh upstaged him at his favourite 50m free pistol event to grab the gold in a nerve-wracking final on the second day of the 59th National Shooting Championship at Dr Karni Singh Range.
Jitu had made it to the eight-man final on top of the qualifying board with a score of 559 while Jai had logged 546 to qualify in sixth position, but turned the tables on his more famous team-mate in the finals.
Jitu lost the final in a gold medal match up, finishing with a final round score of 188 to Jai's 189.5. Prakash Nanjappa of Karnataka, who, like Jitu, has secured a Rio Olympics quota, finished third.
Jitu, Jai and Om Prakash also teamed up to ensure that the army team bagged the team gold in the event.
In the women's section, Rahi Sarnobat of Maharashtra won the 25m Sports Pistol gold ahead of Anisa Sayyed of Haryana. Pushpanjali Rana of the CRPF won the bronze.
Haryana won the team gold in the event while Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh won the silver and bronze respectively.
The other highlight of the day was the multiple gold medals won by upcoming star Achal Pratap Singh Grewal of Punjab who won both the 10m pistol events in the junior and civilian men section.