Kumar Surendra Singh pistol c’ship: Sarnobat beats Esha for 25m pistol gold

Rahi Sarnobat was back at her fluent best as she won the 25-metre sports pistol gold with a 36-31 victory over Esha Singh in the 21st Kumar Surendra Singh memorial pistol championship at the Madhya Pradesh Academy in Bhopal on Monday.

Rahi qualified on top with 582 and was unstoppable in the final, as she finished on top of the podium ahead of Esha Singh and World Cup gold medallist Chinki Yadav.

Three-time World Cup individual gold medallist, Asian Games champion, the 32-year-old Rahi had been battling health issues for quite some time before making a successful return to shooting competition.

The junior gold was bagged by Vibhuti Bhatia with a 35-32 victory over Tejaswani.

The results

25m sports pistol: Women: 1. Rahi Sarnobat 36 (582); 2. Esha Singh 31 (581); 3. Chinki Yadav 28 (375).

Junior women: 1. Vibhuti Bhatia 35 (574); 2. Tejaswani 32 (578); 3. Riya Thate 24 (571).