Commonwealth Games 2018 : Anish becomes India’s youngest-ever Gold medalist
15-year-old Anish Bhanwala became India’s youngest gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games after shooting 30 points — a Commonwealth Games record — in the 25m Rapid Fire final.
Going into the final, Anish sat comfortably on top of the table in the qualification round, scoring 580 points. His compatriot Neeraj Kumar finished second with 579 points. As the first stage of the final began, Anish continued with the momentum that he had earlier, leading comfortably at 13 points, four points ahead of Australia’s David Chapman, who held the second position after 15 shots.
In the eliminators, as Anish continued to lead by four points, ahead of Australia’s Sergei Evglevski, Neeraj slipped, failing to maintain his nerves in a shoot-off to stay alive in the competition, to finish fifth with 13 points. With the last three eliminators to go, Evglevski took his game a notch higher, scoring a 5/5 to bridge the gap between him and the Indian to just two points. The cat-and-mouse chase continued as Anish — with 25 points — held on to a one-point lead against the Australian in the final eliminator. Anish hit the next five shots on target to go to 30 points, making it impossible for Evglevski to take the gold.
Anish hails from Kashandi, Haryana and is coached by former CWG gold medalist Jaspal Rana. His elder sister Muskan is also a national-level shooter.
Silver for Anjum Moudgil
Anjum bagged the silver in women’s 50m Rifle. The 24-year-old Anjum Moudgil stayed in contention for a medal with strong series of shots, and as the competition was whittled away her scores ensured she was in line for gold with compatriot Sawant. She finished second to Sawant with a combined score of 455.7 for her first CWG medal.
In March, Anjum Moudgil had won her first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup medal, a silver in the same event.
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