Pune, 31 October: Defending champion Samarjit Ingle of Kolhapur leads both the junior men’s and youth men’s trap events after the first round of the 41st Maharashtra State Shooting Championship 2026. He scored 23 out of 25 at the shotgun range of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Krida Sankul in Balewadi-Mahalunge on Saturday.
Solapur’s Anika Musale leads the junior women’s and youth women’s categories, while the men’s event is a three-way tie.
Three-way tie in the men’s trap
Abhishek Patil of Thane, who won the men’s title last year, is level with Prithviraj Ingle and Shivraj Shinde, both from Kolhapur. All three scored 22/25 in the first round.
In the women’s event, Rajkuwar Ingle of Kolhapur, the defending champion, leads with 21/25. Aishwarya Andalkar Patil of Kolhapur and Anika Musale are tied for second on 19/25.
Junior and youth leaders
In junior men, Samarjit’s 23 puts him ahead of Satara’s Vihang Shedge on 21 and Solapur’s Ranveer Shinde on 18. The youth men’s standings have the same top two, with Ishank Chaturvedi of Nagpur third on 16.
Anika leads junior women with 19/25. Jaskiran Kaur Dhami and Smita Sawant, both of Kolhapur, are joint second on 14. In youth women, Anika is first on 19, Smita second on 14 and Riya Patil of Kolhapur third on 13.
Masters men
Bhushan Musale and Ravindra Singh Dhami, both of Kolhapur, share the lead in masters men with 21/25. Krishna Dabhade of Kolhapur, last year’s masters champion, is tied on 19 with Samir Patil and Uday Mali, both of Thane.
The first round has been completed by all 12 squads, and squads one to four have also finished their second round.
Champions return, national places at stake
The shotgun events began on Friday with pre-event training in trap, and the official matches started at 7am on Saturday. Several of last year’s winners are competing again, along with Double Trap medallists Ranveer Shinde, Avani Kole, Pranav Gupta and Prithviraj Mahadik, who have moved to trap because Double Trap is no longer held.
Performances at the championship will be used to select Maharashtra’s team for the Shotgun National Championships in Delhi. The competition is organised by the Maharashtra Rifle Association and conducted by the Pune Shooting Sports Association, with the Maharashtra Sports Department providing the range. Hemraj, a senior National Rifle Association of India official holding an ISSF judge and referee licence, is the chief referee.
The championship continues until 4 November. Before it started, organisers reported 62 entries across trap and skeet.
