Saurabh Chaudhary smashes multiple records to win T1 air pistol trials

Asian Games gold medalist shooter Saurabh Chaudhary on Friday broke a series of records as he secured the 10m air pistol T1 men’s event at the ongoing national shooting trials in New Delhi on Friday.

The ace shooter shot a stunning 590 in the 60-shot qualification round, which saw him broke his own national record of 587 set in 2018. He then went on to finish the event with a record score of 246.9 in the final, which was 0.5 more than the previous national record again set by the 19-year-old in 2019.

North Korea’s Kim Song Guk currently holds the finals world record with a score of 246.5. However, Saurabh’s new feat came in the national circuit and not at a continental or a world-level event, thus the score is not eligible for world record.

Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker too emerged victorious in the T1 women’s 10m air pistol trials held at the same venue.

Congratulations my little champion. First Trial of the Year 2021 with Gold in 10 M Air Pistols. @realmanubhaker pic.twitter.com/ljgWEbTMQ6

— Ramkishan Bhaker (@BhakerRamkishan) January 15, 2021

Both world number 4 Saurabh and world number 2 Manu topped their qualification rounds before going on to win the finals. 

The Jhajjar-based shooter shot 580 in the qualifying round and finished the finals with a score of 239.3. The second and third position were held by Tamil Nadu’s Shri Nivetha and Uttar Pradesh’s Neha respectively.