Zoravar Singh Sandhu was by far the best Indian on show on competition day one of the International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup Shotgun in Rabat, Morocco, shooting a score of 73 out of 75 in men’s trap, to garner fourth place in the 98-strong field, with two more rounds of qualification coming up on Wednesday.

The veteran marksman shot a perfect 25 for his second and third rounds to be in a strong position to make the top-six finals cut.

This is the year’s second ISSF World Cup stage with the first, a combined rifle/pistol/shotgun world cup having concluded last month in Cairo, Egypt, where India topped the standings.

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Among the other Indian contenders, Paris quota holder Bhowneesh Mendiratta began well with rounds of 25 and 24 but finished with a 21 to slide down to 38 in the standings. Prithviraj Tondaiman was even further down at 44 with a score of 69.

In the women’s trap, Bhavya Tripathi with a 68 was the best placed Indian on 10th position, while Rajeshwari Kumari also stayed in contention with a 67. Manisha Keer was certainly looking out of contention having shot a 62 on the day.

The finals follow the final two qualification rounds on Wednesday.