Monday was a fruitful day for host India as they won three more gold medals at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup and extended their lead at the top of the medal tally with six gold, four silver, and four bronze.
In all, India won five medals on Monday, to take their tally to 14 medals in the World Cup in which competition is being held in rifle, pistol, and shotgun events at DrKarni Singh Shooting ranges. Indians began Day Four by winning the 10m air rifle mixed team event, followed by the 10m air pistol mixed team competition, before the skeet men’s team struck gold in the final event of the day. India also won silver in the women’s skeet team competition as well as a bronze in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
The first final of the day pitted India’s former world number one pairing, ElavenilValarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar, against Hungary’s champion rifle shooter IstvanPeni and Denes Eszter, who is ranked ninth in the world and won bronze in the individual women’s 10m air rifle in this World Cup.
As expected, it was a closely fought encounter, with both pairs tied 10-10 at one stage, before Elavenil and Divyansh broke away with some world-class performance, to get a 16-10 result in their favour. Earlier, the USA had won bronze, beating Poland 17-15 in the bronze medal match.
In the day’s second final, India’s young pistol aces Manu Bhaker and SaurabhChaudhary began tentatively, but eventually found their groove to put it across Iran’s GolnoushSebghatollahi and JavadForoughi 16-12, in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition. Foroughi had earlier won the individual gold in men’s 10m air pistol on Saturday.
The bronze medal in the event also went to India, when YashaswiniDeswal and AbhishekVerma beat the Turkish pair SevvalTarhan and Ismail Keles 17-13 in the bronze medal match.
India’s third gold of the day came in the last of the four finals when the men’s skeet team comprising Mairaj Ahmad Khan, AngadVir Singh Bajwa and GurjoatKhangura beat a top-notch Qatar squad 6-2 in the gold medal match.