BHOPAL: Young Maharashtra shooter Ananya Naidu clinched the women's 10m air rifle gold, defeating the experienced Meghana Sajjanar of the Railways by a fraction of a point in the National Shooting Championship Competitions here on Tuesday.
Ananya, who trains regularly at legendary rifle shooter Anjali Bhagwat's academy in Pune, shot 252.5 in the final at the MP State Academy range to beat Meghana by a mere 0.2 points for her maiden senior national title.
R. Narmada Nithin of Tamil Nadu bagged the bronze with a score of 231.3.
Ananya, who was part of the Maharashtra contingent at the Khelo India University Games and took up shooting as a 16-year-old, took a 1.4-point lead after the first five shots and never looked back.
However, Meghana closed the gap and was in contention for the top podium finish but finally missed out in the 24-shot final.
In the qualification round, Ananya finished eighth, while state-mate Arya Rajesh Borse topped with a score of 633.3.
Nithin gave a consistent performance both in the qualifications and the final, maintaining her position in the top three. She qualified second with a score of 632.9 points.
In the 10m air rifle junior women's event, Gautami Bhanot secured the first position with a score of 251.5. Gautami took the silver, while Disha Dhankar (Haryana) bagged the bronze with a score of 229.9 points.