New Delhi [India], December 25 : The pair of Maheshwari Chauhan and Anantjeet Singh Naruka, who finished fourth in the Paris Olympics, rounded off a successful year by clinching the Skeet Mixed Team national title for their home state of Rajasthan. In the final held at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range (DKSSR) on Wednesday, as part of the ongoing 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for Shotgun events, the duo secured a tight 44-43 victory over Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Areeba Khan of Uttar Pradesh (U.P). Punjab's Ganemat Sekhon and Abhay Singh Sekhon took bronze.
Earlier in the day, three 25-shot round totals of 72 and 71 by Maheshwari and Anantjeet, respectively, ensured their spot in the gold medal match as the toppers of the seven-team qualification round.
Three teamsGanemat and Abhay, Haryana's Ishaan Libra and Raiza Dhillon, and Mairaj and Areebafinished with the same score of 141. The U.P. duo won a three-way shoot-off, hitting eight consecutive targets, to earn the right to shoot for gold.
Maheshwari and Anantjeet shot confidently in the final, leading throughout the six series of eight birds per team, but lapses in concentration and a nerve-wracking caution to Maheshwari for overshooting her shot time made the final result closer than it seemed.
In the junior Skeet mixed team event, Madhya Pradesh stunned Haryana to win gold, with their pairing of Jyotiraditya Singh and Mansi Raghuvanshi defeating Ishaan and Sanjana Sood 4-2 in a shoot-off after both teams had tied at 40 hits each out of the regulation 48 targets.
Telangana's Munek Battula and Zahra Deesawala won bronze, defeating Rajasthan's Yaduraj Singh and Yashasvi Rathore 42-36 in the bronze medal match.
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