SPO-KHELO SHOOTING

Dhanush upsets World Cupmedallist Babuta, wins airrifle gold

Pune, Jan 11 (PTI)Telangana's Dhanush Srikant Friday

upstaged two-time Junior World Cup bronze medallist Arjun

Babuta of Punjab in men's under-21 10m air rifle final in the

Khelo India Youth Games here and claimed the gold.

Dhanush was a picture of consistency through the day,

topping the qualification with 629.7, his best score.

He showed nerves of steel in the final where he was

ahead of competition after each shot.

The 16-year-old, who has been shooting for just over

two years after becoming a taekwondo Dan 2, is a product of

Project Leap run by Olympic medallist Gagan Narang's Gun for

Glory.

Arjun Babuta, who won Junior World Cup bronze medal in

Gabala in 2016 and in Sydney last year, was third in

qualification and remained in that spot in the final.

Goa's Yash Yogesh earned silver, a mere 1.3 points

behind the Hyderabad lad.

Dhanush's mother Asha Srikant revealed that he had a

Cochlear implant -- a hearing aid device -- in his first year.

"He has been a happy, active child and has not needed

to go to a special school," she was quoted as saying in a

media release.

Meanwhile, the U-17 final produced fireworks with only

0.2 points separating gold medallist Avinash Yadav of Madhya

Pradesh from Rajasthan's Divyansh Singh.

Results(finals): Men's under-21 10m air rifle:

1. Dhanush Srikant (Telangana) 248.9; 2.Yash Yogesh (Goa) 247.

6; 3. Arjun Babuta (Punjab) 225.6.

Men's under-17 10m air rifle: 1. Avinash Yadav (Madhya

Pradesh) 250.9; 2.Divyansh Singh P (Rajasthan) 250.7;

Yashvardhan (Rajasthan) 228.1.