Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], February 4 : 15-year-old shooter Jonathan Anthony made a massive statement on a big stage, outdoing Olympians in the ongoing 38th National Games in the men's 10 m pistol event to win the gold medal.
On Monday, representing Karnataka, Anthony secured his first-ever senior national gold with 240.7 points, outdoing Services' Ravinder Singh (240.3) and Gurpreet Singh (220.1), as per Olympics.com. The final also featured Sarabjot Singh, the Paris Olympics 2024 bronze medalist Sarabjot Singh, but he finished fourth with 198.4 points. Anthony held his nerves well to become the youngest National Games champion in the 10 m air pistol event.
"I am thrilled with this win," Anthony said as quoted by Olympics.com.
"Competing against such talented shooters who have represented India at the highest level makes this victory even more meaningful. Today was my day, and I am proud of how it all came together," he added.
Earlier, Anthony had outdone Olympian Saurab Choudhary during the qualification round. The teenager advanced to the medal round because of a superior final series after both shot 578 points each with identical inner 10s.
Saurabh is a Tokyo Olympian, who has won a Youth Olympic gold. He is also a junior world champion and an Asian Games gold medallist. Several International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) medals in the ISSF World Cup series are also under Saurabh's belt.
Also, another OIympian, Sift Kaur Samra secured the gold medal in the women's 50m rifle 3 positions, with 461.2 points for Punjab at the Maharana Pratap Sports College Trishul Hall.
Her fellow Punjab mate Anjum Moudgil bagged the silver with 458.7 points, while Telangana's Surabhi Bhardwaj Rapole won a bronze medal with 448.8 points.
"This feels like a comeback for me after the Olympics," Sift Kaur Samra said.
"I did not take a break and kept training, so winning gold today feels special. I am pleased with how I executed my routine and the small details that made the difference. It's also wonderful to share the podium with Anjum, who is an incredible shooter," she added.
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