India’s Jitu Rai finished third in the 10 metre Air Pistol final event at the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in New Delhi on Monday, after a gritty performance that saw him rise from second from bottom to the bronze medal. The shooter finished with 216.7 in the final, missing the silver when he fired an 8.8 shot in the deciding moment.
Japan’s Tomoyuki Matsuda won the gold with a world record score of 240.1 while the 2016 Rio Olympics champion Vinh Xuan Hoang of Vietnam clinched the silver with a total of 236.6.
Rai struggled initially to maintain his consistency, scoring less than 10 in his initial shots and was on the verge of elimination right at the beginning. But a tenacious fightback, coupled with some wayward shooting from his closest competitors, saw him climb up the order to reach the top three. In the penultimate battle between the second and third place, he scored 8.6 to be ruled out of the gold medal contention and settled for bronze.
Earlier, Rai had qualified in sixth position with Vinh Hoang finishing on top. The other Indians at the qualifying stage were Omkar Singh and Amanpreet Singh, both who could not make it to the finals.
Rai has already won a gold, in the mixed team event with Heena Sidhu in the same category.
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