Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh) [India], December 22 (ANI): Navy's Kiran Ankush Jadhav produced a composed and consistent performance to clinch the gold medal in the 10m Air Rifle Men final at the 68th National Shooting Championship Competitions, currently underway here at the MP State Shooting Academy.

Jadhav finished with 252.1, holding off Olympian Arjun Babuta, who secured silver with 251.4, while reigning 50m Rifle 3 Positions national champion Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar completed the podium with 229.8, according to a press release from NRAI.

Arjun's Railways teammate Shahu Tushar Mane finished fourth with 209.3, followed by Himanshu (181.1), Ramayana Tomer (166.7), Onkar Vikas Waghamare (145.4) and Pradeep Singh (123.3) to round out the final lineup.

In the 10m Air Rifle Men Junior final, Gujarat's Mohammed Murtaza Vania delivered an authoritative display to secure the gold medal with 254.3. Abhinav Shaw of West Bengal claimed the silver with 251.6, while Onkar Vikas Waghamare finished third with 230.1 to earn the bronze medal.

Naraen Pranav of Karnataka finished fourth with 209, following a shoot-off with Onkar, while Divyanshu Shailendra Dewangan (187.5) and Parth Mane (166.9) placed fifth and sixth respectively, the latter also bowing out after a shoot-off. Uma Mahesh Maddineni (145.3) and Himanshu (123) completed the finals.

Onkar Vikas Waghamare went one better in the 10m Air Rifle Men Youth final, converting his strong form into gold with 250. Onkar built a decisive advantage in the closing shots to finish just 0.3 ahead of his state teammate Naraen Pranav, who took silver, while Shakthivel Senthivel of Tamil Nadu won the bronze medal with 229.5.

Parth Mane (208.2) finished fourth, followed by Abhinav Shaw (187.3) and Pritam Kendre (166.4), who exited after a shoot-off. Abishek Sekhar (145.2) and Ritesh Ravindra Ghule (123.1) were the other finalists.

The medal ceremonies were conducted in the presence of distinguished dignitaries, with Shri Pawankumar Singh, Secretary General, NRAI and Shri Sureshwar Singh (MLA), President, Swami Vivekanand Degree College, Masi, Bahraich and Member, Panchayat Raj Samiti Vidhan Sabha, Uttar Pradesh, gracing the occasion as the Chief Guest. The medals were also presented by Col. C. Naren Babu, Sena Medal Awardee and Commanding Officer, AMU-Mhow; Shri Nilesh Rane, Director, Caprie Sports; Shri Deepak Kumar Dubey, Coach of the Indian Shooting Team; S; Dhiraj Singh, CRO, 10m Rifle Event, 68th NSCC, Bhopal; Sanjeev Gupta, Assistant Director of Sports, M.P. State Shooting Academy, Bhopal; and Asim Baruah, Chief RTS, 68th NSCC Rifle Event, Bhopal.

The action at the Madhya Pradesh State Shooting Academy continues on Tuesday with the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team event scheduled, with the first final set. (ANI)