New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS) Elavenil Valarivan, Shambhavi Kshirsagar and Naraen Pranav, all picked up their second gold medals, as India won both the senior and junior 10m air rifle mixed team events, to take their gold count to 22 at the ongoing 16th Asian Shooting Championship Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun, in Shymkent, Kazakhstan on Saturday.

Ela (316.3) and Arjun (317.7) shot 634.0 in qualification to top the 27-team field in the Olympic event, while India’s second pair of Mehuli Ghosh (317.7) and Rudrankksh Patil (314.9) also shot well for a tally of 632.6, giving them second on the leaderboard.

However, given the rules of the tournament, Mehuli and Rudrankksh missed out on a shot at a medal as Ela and Arjun set up a gold medal clash with the young Chinese pair of Peng Xinlu and Lu Dingke, who were third with 632.3.

The Indians began strongly in the race to 16 points, but the Chinese were quick to hit back, and it would not be till the 10th series of single shots that they would regain the lead after the first series. They took the 11th series as well to open up a 13-9 gap, at which stage the Chinese took a time out and came back with two strong shots to narrow it down to 13-11.

The Indians, however, then fired nothing below 10.5 to take the next two and romp home.

In the air rifle mixed team junior competition, Naraen Pranav and Shambhavi Kshirsagar made the gold medal match on the back of a third-place finish in qualification with a score of 629.5.

Compatriots Isha Taksale and Himanshu missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with 628.6.

In the final, the Indian pair was up against yet another Chinese pair, Tang Huiqi and Han Yinan, and the contest remained even for the first nine series, with the two teams remaining tied at 9-9. The Indians then strung together a series of high 10s to open up a six-point gap, tying the 14th and final series in the end, to get to the target.

India finished the day with 22 gold, eight silver, and 10 bronze medals to remain top of the medal tally with 40 medals. While the seniors have so far won four gold medals, one silver, and five bronze medals, the rest have come from the junior and youth shooters.

–IANS

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