Following Manu, Suruchi claims hat-trick of gold

At the National Shooting Championships here, 18-year-old Suruchi, who hails from Manu's hometown of Jhajjar and has trained at the same academy where the Olympic medalist trained in her early days, shot brilliantly in a tough field to win the national air pistol title.

- Avishek Roy

NEW DELHI: Manu Bhaker's achievements at the Paris Olympics are serving as an inspiration for young shooters.

Manu, who was India's star at the Paris Olympics with two Olympic bronze medals, is giving the Nationals a miss. She has resumed training and is expected to return for the selection trials next month. Despite her absence, the field in the 10m air pistol event—in which Manu won bronze in Paris—was strong, with Paris Olympian Rhythm Sangwan, Asian Games champion Palak, and junior world champion Sainyam all making it to the final. However, it was Suruchi who stole the limelight—first topping the qualification with a high score of 585 and then dominating the eight-shooter final.