Srinjoy Datta was a class act as he defeated 14-year-old Abhinav Shaw 16-14 for the air rifle gold in the Khelo India Youth Games at the Dr. Karni Singh Range, Tughlakabad, on Wednesday.
In a gripping climax which had the spectators joyfully expressing their appreciation for every shot, the 19-year-old Srinjoy came up with 10.5 or better shots 11 out of 15 times in the gold medal match.
Equally, except for his first and last shots, Abhinav hit all 10s, but was beaten by a superior opponent whose eight of last nine shots were 10.4 or better.
With the scores tied at 14-14, Abhinav, releasing his shots first right through the gold medal match, stumbled to 9.5, whereas Srinjoy delivered a 10.7 moments later, and punched the air in celebration.
Qualification topper Ranavir Katkar (630.1) finished fifth after losing a tie-shot with Yash Vardhan. Behind the two Bengal boys, Keval Prajapati won the bronze for Gujarat.
After watching the final, the chief guest at the medal ceremony, Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police, P Abinandhan, commended the shooters on their high degree of accuracy and wished them a smooth transition to Olympic standard.
The results:
Youth men’s air rifle: 1. Srinjoy Datta 16 (260.4) 626.1; 2. Abhinav Shaw 14 (261.5) 628.2; 3. Keval Prajapati 259.8 (621.4).
