Indian Shooting Stars Dominate at 25th Deaflympics
Indian shooting contingent continued their impressive performance at the 25th Deaflympics on Wednesday, adding two more medals to their growing collection. The dynamic pair of Abhinav Deshwal and Pranjali Prashant Dhumal secured the gold medal in the 10m Air Pistol mixed team event, while Kushagra Singh Rajawat claimed bronze in the 50m Rifle Prone competition.
Dominant Gold Medal Victory
The Indian duo of Deshwal and Dhumal displayed exceptional shooting skills as they completely dominated their gold medal match against Chinese Taipei's Ya-Ju Kao and Ming-Jui Hsu. The Indian pair secured a convincing 16-6 victory, showcasing their superior technique and coordination throughout the final match.
What makes their achievement even more remarkable is that both shooters had earlier matched their own Deaf World and Olympic record during the qualification round. They posted an impressive combined score of 569-20x, with Deshwal contributing 287-12x and Dhumal shooting 282-8x.
Bronze Medal Performance
In the 50m Rifle Prone event, Kushagra Singh Rajawat demonstrated excellent precision to secure the bronze medal with a score of 224.3 points. The gold medal in this event went to Ukraine's Dmytro Petrenko, who set a record-breaking score of 251.0, while Germany's Colin Mueller took silver with 245.4 points.
The success story of Deshwal and Dhumal becomes even more impressive considering both shooters had previously won individual silver medals in their respective events on Monday, making this their second medal achievement at the current Deaflympics.
Other Indian Performances
The second Indian pair in the 10m Air Pistol mixed team event, Anuya Prasad and Rudar Vinod Kumar, finished seventh in qualification with a combined score of 553-10x. Prasad scored 280-5x while Kumar managed 273-5x.
In the bronze medal match of the same event, Iran's Mahla Samiee and Bijan Ghaffari secured the third position by defeating Ukraine's Sofiia Olenych and Oleksandr Kolodii.
Looking Ahead
As the competition continues, Indian shooting fans have more reasons to be optimistic. On Thursday, Indian shooters Mahit Sandhu and Natasha Joshi will compete in the women's 50m 3 Positions event. Sandhu enters the competition with prior success, having already secured gold in the 10m Air Rifle Mixed team event and silver in the individual category.
With these latest medal wins, India's shooting medal tally at the 25th Deaflympics has now reached an impressive 11 medals, demonstrating the growing strength and depth of Indian shooting talent on the international stage.
