Shooter Swaroop Ulhankar guns for glory

As Gun for Glory's (GFG) shooters work hard each day to get better, Maharashtra’s Swaroop Mahavir Ulhankar, who is part of Project Leap, is already bearing results at the 61st National Shooting Competitions for para-athletes as he scored an unprecedented 604.8 to clinch the gold in the 10M Rifle (IPC) Standing Championship for men and a bronze in the same category for mixed seniors with a score of 624.6, here on Wednesday.

Swaroop made a golden start to the men’s event as he scored an unparalleled 101.4 with his first shot. The next two shots fetched him 100.9 and 101.9 to get into the lead among the ten shooters in fray. He was on the mark with his next shot too (100.9) but went off the 100-mark with his fifth shot and scored a 99.6.

Even though eventual winner of the silver medal, Uttar Pradesh’s Chetan scored a massive 102.1 in his last shot, Swaroop’s last foray with the gun (100.1) led him to the first place on the podium and stamped his authority on the gold with a cumulative score of 604.8.

However, he couldn’t continue his gold rush in the mixed seniors event as he narrowly missed out with a score of 624.6.

After scoring a 104.8, 104.7, 103.5 and 104.7 with his first four shots, Swaroop had put in a stellar performance. However, Avani Lakhera’s first shot which fetched her a 106.2 proved to be pivotal towards her win as she finished with a score of 628.8 to leave the Maharashtra lad behind in third place to make him settle for a bronze.

“I am glad that my hard work in Project Leap is now paying off and I want to keep working so that I can achieve more such feats in the future. My aim is to get better with each day and perform at the highest level consistently,” the jubilant Swaroop signed off.