‘Powerful women like you don’t just inspire, you make all of us believe a little more. Keep flying and keep inspiring,’ Sindhu wrote for her.
Eight months pregnant and still stepping onto the range. Meghana Sajjanar clinched a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the ongoing Asian Championship for rifle and pistol events in New Delhi on Saturday.
Indian badminton star PV Sindhu, regarded as one of the country’s most successful athletes, led the tributes for Sajjanar, saluting the shooter’s grit in a post on X(twitter).
“Eight months pregnant and still stepping onto the range to win a bronze medal.
“Meghna, my friend, watching you do this fills me with so much respect and admiration. You remind us that strength comes in many forms and that courage and heart always find a way.
Powerful women like you don’t just inspire, you make all of us believe a little more. Keep flying and keep inspiring,” Sindhu wrote.
While Japan’s Misaki Nobata and India’s Elavenil Valarivan pushed the pace at the top, Sajjanar held her nerve to finish on the podium, adding another international medal to her record.
Elavenil Valarivan topped the women’s 10m air rifle final with a score of 252.0 to secure her third Asian Championship gold medal.
Japan’s Nobata followed closely with 251.5, and Sajjanar finished third with 229.5.
But, India’s dominance extended beyond the individual podium. Elavenil (633.7), Arya (630.3) and Sajjanar (628.6) combined to win the team gold in the qualification round, posting a total score of 1892.6.
The Asian Championship is regarded as a top-tier international competition, bringing together shooters from across the continent and it is also a key benchmark ahead of World Cups and Olympic qualification cycles.
For Sajjanar, the bronze adds to a steady record of consistency on the global stage.
Last year, she clinched her first-ever ISSF World Cup medal, a bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle, as India finished fifth overall at the season-ending Rifle/Pistol World Cup.
In 2022, she was also part of the Indian team that won bronze in the air rifle team event at the Cairo World Championship.
source/content: telegraphindia.com (headline edited)