New Delhi, Jan. 5 -- In the ever-changing landscape of Indian shooting, upsets no longer raise eyebrows. On any given day, an unheralded shooter can make a world-class field look ordinary. Ajay Kumar Ambawat did exactly that on Saturday at the National Shooting Championships here. He outclassed a formidable line-up - one that would have been equally strong at an international competition - featuring a world champion, three Olympians and a World Championships medallist. On a biting cold morning, the Army shooter stayed calm under pressure and walked away with the 10m air pistol national title at the Karni Singh Shooting Range. The first challenge was surviving the qualification itself, with the cream of Indian shooting clubbed in the final relay on the concluding morning of the 15-day competition. The field included newly crowned 10m air pistol world champion Samrat Rana, World Championships bronze medallist and 2025 National champion Varun Tomar, Paris Olympics mixed team medallist Sarabjot Singh and Olympian Arjun Singh Cheema. Ajay shot 583-20x to qualify at sixth place. Navy's Ujjawal Malik, the 2024 World Cup medallist, topped qualification with 584-22x. Cheema also made the final eight, along with Shiva Narwal, who marked a strong comeback after two years. The other big names, however, fell by the wayside. It was Ajay who came out all guns blazing in the eight-shooter final. He opened with a commanding 51.4 in the first series of five shots and only raised his intensity as the match progressed, holding firmly to the lead. The gap proved too large for the others to bridge and Ajay sealed the title with 241.1. Shubham Bisla mounted a late fightback but had to settle for silver with 240.1 while Anmol Jain took bronze with 220. Ajay has been training at the Army Marksmanship Unit in Mhow for six years, but this was his first appearance in Senior Nationals final. "Last year, I came close but missed the final by a whisker. So this year I put in more effort in training and it paid off. I was confident of making the cut, and in the final I wanted to be aggressive from the start and keep the momentum going. That approach helped," he said. The 25-year-old joined the Army eight years ago and took up shooting after watching Jitu Rai, one of India's finest pistol shooters. "I watched him during Army training camps and learnt a lot from him. I was motivated by the number of international medals he has won. There is strong competition in the AMU. Last year too, Varun Tomar from the Army won the Senior National title." For Ajay, the gold marked the end of a long wait. His closest brush with a medal came last year when he finished 4th at the National Games. "I've progressed every year. Last year, I scored 580 in qualification, so I told myself that if I improved a little more, I could make the final. Everything came together today in my first final appearance." In about 15 days, the selection trials will begin, signalling the start of a demanding season as shooters vie for Asian Games and World Championships berths. The National title will give Ajay confidence as he takes a step up. "Just being there and winning in such a high-quality field of Olympians and Worlds medallists makes you believe in your abilities," he said. The trials, however, will be a different challenge altogether. Champions who may have conserved energy at the Nationals are expected to go all out. The competition will be fierce and scores high. Among the contenders will be promising 16-year-old Jonathan Gavin Anthony of Karnataka. On Saturday, he claimed both the junior (240.5) and youth National crowns. He missed the senior final by a point - otherwise Ajay might have faced an even stiffer challenge. An ISSF Junior World Cup gold medallist, Anthony eagerly awaits his first senior season. "There's the Asian Games and Olympic quota places at stake. It's tough, and I'll have to work hard," Jonathan said....