Shymkent (Kazakhstan), Aug 23 (IANS) India extended its remarkable performance at the 16th Asian Shooting Championship in Shymkent, Kazakhstan, on Saturday as Arjun Babuta and Elavenil Valarivan captured the gold medal in the 10m air rifle mixed team event.

The Indian duo outclassed China’s Dingke Lu and Xinlu Peng 17-11 in a thrilling final, turning the match around after trailing in the initial rounds. With early scores of 9.5 and 10.1, the Indian pair looked tentative, but they regained composure and executed a flawless display of precision shooting in the later stages to clinch the victory.

For Elavenil Valarivan, this marked her second gold medal at the championship, following her triumph in the women’s 10m air rifle individual event on Friday. In that contest, she shot 253.6 points, narrowly edging out China’s Peng Xinlu (253.0) and Korea’s Kwon Eunji (231.2), becoming a continental champion for the first time. Elavenil, who has represented India at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympics, has consistently shown her ability to deliver under pressure, cementing her status as one of Asia’s premier shooters.

India’s dominance in Shymkent was not limited to Elavenil and Babuta. Earlier in the championship, the men’s 10m air rifle team comprising Arjun Babuta, Rudrankksh Patil and Kiran Jadhav clinched the team gold, demonstrating India’s strength across both individual and team events.

Meanwhile, in the women’s team competition, Elavenil teamed up with Mehuli Ghosh and Ananya Naidu to secure the bronze medal, narrowly missing out on silver. Mehuli Ghosh also competed in the individual women’s 10m air rifle final, finishing in a commendable fourth place.

India sits comfortably on top of the medal tally with 21 gold, eight silver and ten bronze medals won on the last count. China are in second place with nine gold and 19 medals in all.

–IANS

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