Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan asserted his class by winning the men’s skeet gold on the concluding day of the 61st National Shotgun Championship in New Delhi.
There was a shoot-off to decide the gold as both Mairaj and young Angad Vir Singh Bajwa of Punjab registered 57 out of 60 hits in the finals.
The 42-year-old Mairaj, representing Uttar Pradesh, defended his title with a thrilling 26-25 victory in a marathon shoot-off against Angad.
Haryana’s Man Singh won the bronze with a score of 46 in the finals.
Mairaj who had also won gold in the previous edition at Jaipur shot a qualification score of 122 (23,25,25,25,24).
Angad had topped the qualification with 123 (25,24,25,25,24) hits while Man shot 122 (24,25,24,25,24).
There was another shoot-off to decide the junior men’s gold, where Chhattisgarh Mohd. Hamza Sheikh prevailed over Punjab Gurnihal Singh Garcha 7-6 after both were tied on 53 hits.
Ayush Rudraraju of Tripura won bronze with 38 hits in the finals.
Ayush was the qualification topper with 118 (24,24,23,23,24), Hamza shot 117 (20,23,25,24,25) while Gurnihal 114 (21,22,23,24,24).
The Results: 
Men’s Skeet:┬á1. Mairaj Ahmad Khan 57 (26) 122; 2. Angad Vir Singh Bajwa 57 (25) 123; 3. Man Singh 46 (122).
Men’s Skeet Team: 1. Punjab 356; 2. Haryana 351; 3. Uttar Pradesh (348).
Junior Men’s Skeet:┬á1. Mohd. Hamza Sheikh 53 (7); 2. Gurinhal Singh Garcha 53 (6); 3. Ayush Rudraraju 38.
Junior Men’s Skeet Team: Punjab (336); 2. Rajasthan (326); 3. Madhya Pradesh (285).