Lakshya Cup: India’s top-ranked rifle shooters arrive in Navi Mumbai for invitation-only event

Posted on by Vividh Bharathi

Mumbai, Feb 20 (IANS) The stage is set for the 16th RR Lakshya Cup 2025 as India’s top 20-ranked 10m Air Rifle shooters arrived at Lakshya Shooting Club, in Navi Mumbai, on Friday ahead of the tournament scheduled for Saturday and Sunday.

Qualification rounds on Saturday will feature four relays beginning at 09:30, with subsequent relays at 11:30, 13:30, and 15:30, followed by free training from 17:00 to 19:00.

On Sunday, the remaining two qualification relays will take place at 09:30 and 11:30, leading into the Junior 10m Air Rifle Final at 14:00 and the Senior 10m Air Rifle Final at 15:30. The Prize Distribution Ceremony will commence at 17:30, followed by the Closing Banquet at 20:00.

The tournament brings together India’s finest junior and senior rifle talent, including Kiran Jadhav, reigning National Champion, World Championship medallist, and defending Lakshya Cup Senior Champion.

Also in action will be Sonam Maskar, the ISSF World Cup medallist; Parth Mane, the reigning National Games Champion and Junior World Champion; Rajshree Sancheti, the International shooter and former National Champion; and Ojasvi Thakur, the Asian Championships Youth gold medallist.

The Senior Champion will receive ₹1.5 lakh and the rotating Silver Trophy, currently held by Kiran Jadhav of the Indian Navy. The Junior Champion will receive ₹75,000, with additional cash prizes for other podium finishers. Athletes will also compete for shooting equipment and accessories from equipment partner Capapie Sports and accessories partner Tiro Sports.

Suma Shirur, Founder and High-Performance Director of Lakshya Shooting Club, said, “The Lakshya Cup has since evolved into one of India’s most respected invitation-only rifle competitions, bridging the gap between training excellence and competitive pressure for emerging and elite shooters.”

Founded in 2006, Lakshya Shooting Club introduced the Lakshya Cup in 2009 as an intra-club event. Conceptualised by Olympian, Arjuna Awardee, and Dronacharya Awardee Suma Shirur. The Lakshya Cup has since evolved into one of India’s most respected invitation-only rifle competitions, bridging the gap between training excellence and competitive pressure for emerging and elite shooters.

A defining feature of the Lakshya Cup since its inception has been gender parity—women and men in the senior category, and girls and boys in the junior category, compete together for the same podium positions.

–IANS

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Chasing a challenging 185, Purani Dilli 6 lost early wickets when Beniwal struck with back-to-back breakthroughs in the powerplay. His sharp pace and control left the opposition stunned, and with Abhishek Khandelwal and Aman Bharti adding to the damage, Purani Dilli 6 crumbled to 28/6 inside eight overs.

Beniwal eventually completed a superb five-for (5/19 in 4 overs), while Khandelwal’s 4/31 ensured there was no way back for Purani Dilli 6.

The only bright spot in their innings came from Ekansh Dobal, who showed grit under pressure. He stitched together a 46-run stand with Lalit Yadav (22 off 28) to bring some stability before Yadav was bowled by Beniwal. Dobal carried on to reach a well-deserved half-century, but his lone effort could not save his team as Purani Dilli 6 were bowled out for 138.

Earlier, batting first, South Delhi Superstarz scored 184. Their openers gave them the perfect start with Anmol Sharma and Ankur Kaushik adding 70 runs for the first wicket. While Kaushik departed for 21 off 17, Sharma anchored the innings with a fluent half-century, keeping one end steady as wickets fell around him.

The middle order faltered under pressure, but a crucial cameo from Vision Panchal in the closing stages lifted the total past 180.

For Purani Dilli 6, Lalit Yadav (3/24) and Rajneesh Dadar (3/30) were the standout performers with the ball, regularly striking to restrict Superstarz from crossing 200.

Brief Scores:

South Delhi Superstarz: 184 all out (Anmol Sharma 50, Vision Panchal 27; Lalit Yadav 3/24, Rajneesh Dadar 3/30)

Purani Dilli 6: 138 all out in 18.3 overs (Ekansh Dobal 63, Lalit Yadav 22; Sumit Kumar Beniwal 5/19, Abhishek Khandelwal 4/31)

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During the lunch break of Day 5 play, 51,371 fans were in attendance at the MCG in anticipation of a grandstand finish to the match. Such was the rush of fans coming into the MCG to witness day five’s play that the stadium staff was scrambling around to make more arrangements around security, as well as food and beverage supplies.

“We’ve officially surpassed the attendance record set in 1936/37 when Australia faced England — a Test which spanned six days,” said the MCG through its ‘X’ account on Monday. “Thank you, Melbourne. An Australian cricketing record, an MCG record and history made,” Cricket Australia said on its ‘X’ account.

Now, Cricket Australia (CA) has confirmed the final number at 74,362, with total attendance for the ongoing game standing at 373,691. It has now comfortably beaten the previous overall record of 350,534 spectators at the same ground during the 1936/37 Ashes series against England, when Donald Bradman made 270 in a six-day Test match.

“We’ve been blown away by the support of fans across the Boxing Day Test. Our partnership with the MCC and Victorian Government is a special one, and it’s been a great team effort to achieve this result.”

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The attendance figure for the opening day of the ongoing Boxing Day Test stood at 87,242, which became a new record for the highest single match-day attendance in a Test match between the two teams. Day three’s play on Saturday attracted 83,073 fans, which set a new record for spectator attendance on the moving day of a Boxing Day Test match.

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Jaipur Open 2025: Teenager Manoj S. shoots 63 for the first-round lead

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Bengaluru-based Manoj S, fresh from six top-10 finishes in his last eight starts on the PGTI, continued his fine form as he sank eight birdies against a lone bogey on Tuesday.

Shaurya Bhattacharya, Divyanshu Bajaj, Kushal Singh, and Arjun Prasad struck scores of six-under 64 to be close on the heels of the leader in tied second place.

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