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Osijek, Jun 28: Olympic-bound Rahi Sarnobat displayed sensational form to clinch the women's 25m pistol gold medal at the ISSF shooting World Cup here on Monday but teen sensation Manu Bhaker ended seventh in the same event.

Sarnobat's gold is India's first in the ongoing edition after the country secured one silver and two bronze medals earlier in the tournament.

The 30-year-old Sarnobat fired a final score of 39 after qualifying second with a total of 591. Her stupendous performance in the final included perfect scores in the third, fourth, fifth and the sixth series.

"After I got assurance about the gold, it was more about technicalities for me in the last few series as I wanted to try out a few things so I was doing that," she said about her stellar performance.

"This competition was absolutely not about performance or medal because I was trying out a few things which I am going to do in the Olympic Games and this is the final competition before that.

"It was more about trying out things and finalising every thing before the Olympics for the last time and that was just that," she added.

Nonetheless, winning a gold here has given Sarnobat the belief that her preparations are on the right track for the Tokyo Games.

"...I have to keep working on this up to and after the Olympic Games as well," she said.

The silver went to France's Mathilde Lamolle, who scored 31 in the final. Rio Olympics silver-medallist in the 10m air pistol, Russian Vitalina Batsarashkina, won bronze with 28 hits, bowing out after the ninth five-shot series.

In the qualification, Sarnobat fired a brilliant 296 in the rapid fire round on Monday. Her precision score was an equally impressive 295 on Sunday.

Bhaker recorded a total of 588 to qualify third after firing a 296 in the rapid fire round on Monday following an impressive 292 in the precision round on Sunday.

However, she was eliminated early in the final with a disappointing score of 11, losing a shoot-off to Bulgaria's Viktoria Chaika.

Bhaker had teamed up with Saurabh Chaudhary for the 10m air pistol mixed team silver.

She had earlier clinched the women's 10m air pistol team bronze with Sarnobat and Yashaswini Deswal.

Before that, Chaudhary had won the men's 10m air pistol individual bronze medal.

This is the last competitive outing for the Olympic-bound shooters, who will go to Tokyo after their stint here.

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Noida: India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma has drawn sharp criticism on social media following remarks he made on air attributing Delhi’s air pollution partly to its geographical location and the Aravalli hill range.

Speaking during a recent episode of his prime-time show Aaj Ki Baat, Sharma said Delhi’s geography plays a major role in trapping polluted air.

“Geographical location is the main reason. Delhi is a big city and its shape is like a bowl, surrounded by the Aravalli hills on three sides. As a result, polluted air gets trapped and cannot disperse easily. Therefore, the problem of pollution in Delhi cannot be solved in one year or in any particular season,” he said.

His comments came amid a severe deterioration in air quality in the national capital. On Sunday morning, December 21, Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, sharply reducing visibility and causing widespread discomfort. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 around 7 a.m., placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Dense fog and smog also disrupted flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). As many as 110 flights were cancelled, while over 370 flights were delayed due to poor visibility. Of the cancelled services, 59 were arriving flights and 51 were departures. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that departing flights faced an average delay of around 26 minutes.

Netizens troll Sharma

One user wrote on X, “Rajat Sharma is saying due to the Aravalli hills, there is air pollution in Delhi. He is defending mining and destroying the Aravalli hills like this. How can these people call themselves journalists?”

Another user accused him of political hypocrisy, comparing his earlier criticism of the Delhi government with his current remarks, and wrote, “In 2023 he blamed Arvind Kejriwal for Delhi air pollution. In 2025, he is blaming the Aravalli hills because BJP is in power. Hypocrisy = 100%, Journalism = 00%.”

Others termed the comments an example of the “godi media” narrative, alleging that geography was being blamed instead of governance, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, construction dust, and stubble burning. “When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to nature,” another post read.

“Friends, what can one even say about today’s godi media? According to them, the reason for Delhi’s pollution is that the Aravalli hills surround the city from three sides, trapping polluted air inside. Seriously? So now Sudhir Chaudhary and Rajat Sharma want us to believe that nature itself is to blame? When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to geography. Apparently, it’s not years of environmental destruction or administrative failure—it’s the Aravalli hills! Does this explanation make any sense at all?,” wrote another.

What is the Aravali issue?

The controversy arises over the Union government’s revised definition of what constitutes the Aravalli hills.

The decision has drawn protests involving environmental activists across Haryana, Rajasthan, and parts of the Delhi-NCR region, who have raised concerns that the new definition could weaken protection for one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges.

Under the revised definition, an “Aravalli hill” is described as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above local relief, while an “Aravalli range” is defined as a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. Activists fear this could open the door for mining, construction, and commercial activities in previously protected areas.

Environmentalists argue that the Aravalli range serves as a natural barrier against desertification, dust storms, and pollution, and plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance in the Delhi-NCR region.

They have demanded that the entire Aravalli range be declared a fully protected area with strict conservation measures.

Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has stated that the new definition, accepted by the Supreme Court based on a Centre-led panel’s recommendations, would not result in any relaxation of mining norms in the Aravalli region.

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