Gold for Seema; TN girls top team event

Sports
WINNING COMBO: The Tamil Nadu team which won the women's trap event in Thrissur on Monday. (From left): N. Nivedha, Asiya Khilji and Asila Khilji / The Hindu
WINNING COMBO: The Tamil Nadu team which won the women’s trap event in Thrissur on Monday. (From left): N. Nivedha, Asiya Khilji and Asila Khilji / The Hindu

Seema Tomar of Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) held her nerve to win the women’s trap shooting gold in the 35th National Games at the Police Academy range here on Monday.

In the gold medal clash, Seema found a tough customer in Rajeshwari Kumari of Punjab. The latter applied pressure and the former shook a bit midway through. But, before any damage could be done, Seema recovered strongly for a place atop the podium.

The Tamil Nadu girls pocketed their first gold medal of the Games. It came in the team trap event. The trio of F. Asiya Khilji, N. Nivedha and Asila Khilji edged out strong contenders Delhi and SSCB for the gold.

The TN girls tallied 169 of which Asiya shot a possible 62 out of 75. Asila, who is making her debut at the Games, scored 10 less than her elder sister Asiya. Nivetha completed the tally with a 55. It was Asiya’s second-round effort that sealed the gold in favour of the team. The 24-year-old, who is doing her Phd in Finance at the Madras University, started the day badly but finished with a bang.

“It was windy and I was off target and that resulted in a score of 16 in the first round,” said Asiya, who shot a 62 as well at the senior Nationals in Delhi in 2013.

Asiya followed it up with a 24 and 22 in the next two rounds. “The second round effort is my career best score. I had to literally fight back after a poor first round show.”

Asila, a class nine student and also among the youngest in the shooting crowd, was quite aggressive in the first round but lost ground from there. “Trap is a mind game. If you allow the pressures and the scores to get to you then you will be trapped. I am happy that I contributed a bit as well for the gold,” said Asila.

After playing a part in the team event, Asiya staved off a stiff challenge towards the end from Aakriti Khapra of Delhi for the bronze.

The results: Women: Trap: 1. Seema Tomar (SSCB); 2. Rajeshwari Kumari (PUN); 3. F. Asiya Khilji (TN).

Team event: 1. Tamil Nadu (F. Asiya Khilji 62; N. Nivetha 55, Asila Khilji 52) 169; 2. Delhi 167 (Mahima Kumar Mahajan 61, Aakriti Khapra 60, Kirti Gupta 46); 3. SSCB 158 (Seema Tomar 60, Shikha Bhadauria 58, Varsha Tomar 40).