National shooting C'ships: Abhinav Bindra wins on return

Hobby shooter defends 10m air rifle title in the National Shooting Championships

Pune: Olympic medallists Abhinav Bindra and Vijay Kumar clinched a gold medal each in 10-metre air rifle and 25-metre standard pistol events respectively at the 58th National Shooting Championship here yesterday.

Abhinav Bindra

India’s only Olympic gold medallist in individual sport, the 32-year-old Bindra shot a total of 208 to walk away with the top prize and defend his title in 10-metre air rifle at the Balewadi Shooting Range.

Vijay, a silver medallist at the 2012 London Games, shot a total of 571 to become the new national champion in 25-metre standard pistol category.

Bindra had revealed his decision to only train twice a week just before the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon where he won a bronze.

Army marksman Satyendra Singh finished second with a total of 207.2 in 10-metre air rifle event, while Haryana’s Sanjeev Rajput settled for the bronze shooting a total of 185.

Ironically, Rajput had taken the pole position in the qualifications shooting a total of 624, while Bindra trailed the Haryana marksman by 3 points. In the team event the Army Marksmanship Unit of Satyendra, Chain Singh and Chavanke Ashok won the gold medal shooting 1857.5 points.

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