Bhopal, Jan 29 (IANS): Paris Olympians Prithviraj Tondaiman and Rajeshwari Kumari were among those to make the finals of the men’s and women’s Trap competitions respectively, making the cut by finishing among the top six in the 3rd Digvijay Singh Memorial Shooting Championship for Shotgun events here on Wednesday.

The two Olympians made it to the final in contrasting fashion, Prithviraj through a shoot-off while Rajeshwari grabbed the last spot in the event being played here at the MP State Academy (MPSA) Shooting range at Bhopal,Madhya Pradesh. All the finals are scheduled for Thursday (January 30).

In the men’s Trap, Suleman Arsh Elahi topped the 108-strong field with a five-round total of 121, albeit after coming off best in a three-way shoot-off for final placings. Suleman trapped three targets in succession in the shoot-off whilst Delhi’s Fahd Sultan missed his third and Prithviraj (Tamil Nadu) his second, to hand the bib advantage in the final to the Rajasthan shooter. Asian Games silver medallist Lakshay Sheoran of Haryana also made the cut in fifth place.

In the women’s event, Army shooter Preeti Rajak was best with a 119, while Rajeshwari, a silver medallist in the women's trap event in the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, took the sixth and final qualifying spot.

Defending champions Lakshay Sheoran of Haryana and Bhavya Tripathi of Delhi were the top-placed shooters in the men’s and women’s trap shooting finals of the 67th National Shooting Championship Competitions (NSCC) for Shotgun events that were held at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range near New Delhi last week.