Paarth makhija

Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan: An epic 40-shot shoot-off, probably the longest seen in national domestic skeet shooting, eventually separated Abhay Singh Sekhon and Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan at the national shotgun selection trials 2 here at the Karni Singh Shooting range, with the former taking it 20-19, after both tied at 59-hits in the 60-shot final.

Earlier in the day, Olympian Mairaj had topped the qualification round, also by virtue of a shoot-off win, with a tally of 122/125. Abhay, representing Punjab, had made the top six in fifth place with a score of 119, going down in a three-way shoot-off for bib numbers to Man Singh, who finished third in the final.

In the women’s skeet selection trials 2, Parinaaz Dhaliwal made it a Shotgun sweep for Punjab, winning the final with 53-hits. Just like in the men’s final, Uttar Pradesh took second place with Areeba Khan scoring 52-hits, while Ganemat Sekhon, made it a second double podium for Punjab on the day with a tally of 42 in the final.