Indian sports wrap, December 15: Manu Bhaker, Simranpreet Brar strike gold at Nationals
Bhaker, Simranpreet finish top of the pile in 25m pistol at Nationals
Double Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker and ISSF World Cup Final winner Simranpreet Kaur Brar delivered top-class performances at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi, winning the gold medals in the senior and junior women’s 25m sports pistol events, respectively, at the 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC).
Bhaker shot 36 in the final to secure the gold, finishing four hits clear of Divya T.S. of Karnataka, who took silver with 32. Anjali Choudhary claimed the bronze medal after hitting 28 targets. Rhythm Sangwan (22) finished fourth, followed by Arshdeep Kaur (18), Annu Raj Singh (14), and Anuja Verma (11) in fifth, sixth, and seventh positions, respectively. Parisha Gupta did not start in the final.
Earlier, Divya topped the qualification round with a score of 587-22x, ahead of Anjali (582-19x). Annu Raj finished third with 582-16x, while Bhaker qualified fourth with 581-19x. Parisha placed fifth with 581-14x, followed by Rhythm (579-17x), with Arshdeep and Anuja completing the top eight with 578-19x.
In the junior section, Simranpreet continued her impressive run, shooting 39 to claim the gold medal. Dwaram Pranavi won silver, while Palak of Haryana picked up bronze with 20. Tanu Shree Tomar (19) finished fourth after bowing out in the shoot-off, followed by Sejal Raju Kamble (14), Megana Sadula (11), and Lavanya Kanwar (7). Parisha did not start in the final in this category as well.
The junior qualification round was topped by Parisha, with Simranpreet qualifying second with 578-13x. Palak (575-14x) finished third, followed by Sejal (575-12x), Tanu Shree (573-11x), Lavanya (572-17x), Sadula (572-13x), and Pranavi (572-11x).
In the women’s team event of 25m sports pistol, Maharashtra clinched the gold medal with a combined score of 1726-40x, through Shital Preetam Desai (577-12x), Abhidnya Ashok Patil (575-13x), and Rahi Sarnobat (574-15x). The Army Marksmanship Unit (Anuja, Sejal, and Anjali Bhagwat) finished second with 1722-44x, while Haryana (Rhythm, Vibhuti Bhatia, and Tejaswani) secured the bronze medal with 1718-43x.
The Army Marksmanship Unit (Sejal, Jiya Jakhar, and Anjali) claimed gold with 1714-38x, while Delhi (Parisha, Kamakshi Kumar, and Naamya Kapoor) secured silver with 1714-36x. Punjab (Simrampreet, Agam Grewal, and Jasman Kelley) won the bronze medal with 1709-40x.
The championship action continues on Tuesday with the men’s Skeet finals scheduled in New Delhi, while the 50m Rifle 3 Positions women’s finals will take place at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy in Bhopal.
-Team Sportstar
Chotrani, Semwal and Chand to take part in CCI Western India squash tournament
Veer Chotrani, Anjali Semwal, and Suraj Chand will be among the prominent players to take part in the 80th edition of the CCI Western India Squash Tournament here from December 17 to 21.
The tournament is organised under the Squash Rackets Federation of India and the Maharashtra Squash Rackets Association and will be played at six glass-backed courts at the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.
“The rise of multiple Indian players in the PSA World Top 100, including Sourav Ghoshal’s and Joshna Chinappa’s historic surge into the Top 10, underlines the event’s impact on India’s professional squash ecosystem, particularly its role in advancing world-class women athletes,” the organisers said in a release.
The competition will be held in multiple categories of boys and girls (juniors) as well as men and women (seniors).
-PTI
Published on Dec 15, 2025