Double silver medallist at the 2024 ISSF World Cup in Cairo stage earlier this year, India’s Sonam Uttam Maskar bagged another of the same colour at the ISSF World Cup Final in New Delhi on Tuesday in the women’s 10m air rifle.
It was the Kolhapur girl’s first medal at the World Cup Final level and also India’s first of the competition.
China’s Paris Olympics gold medallist Huang Yuting won gold with a world and junior world record score of 254.5, leaving Sonam 1.6 behind. France’s Oceanne Muller won bronze.
China won three of the four finals on the day, while France’s Paris silver medallist Camille Jedrzejewski won the other in the women’s 10m air pistol.
A boisterous, lively and partisan Karni Singh crowd experienced joy in the very first of four finals of the day, as Maskar put in a virtuoso performance in the women’s 10m air rifle.
She first shot a solid 632.1 in qualification to finish fourth and then overcame a sluggish start in the finals to mount a brilliant comeback and seal a creditable silver behind the world beating Chinese.
Two shots, one a 10.7 for her 19th followed by a perfect 10.9 for her 20th, both under pressure with a medal on the line, were ones that caught the eye.
Tilottama Sen the second Indian in the eight-woman final finished sixth on a score of 167.7, after having finished seventh in the qualification round.
Elsewhere, India’s Rhythm Sangwan and Surbhi Rao finished fourth and fifth respectively in women’s 10m air pistol final.
Meanwhile, Arjun Babuta finished fifth in men’s 10m air rifle after leading the competition for a bit. Compatriot Divyansh Singh Panwar slotted in the eighth place.
Arjun Cheema, the lone Indian to reach men’s 10m air pistol final, too missed out on a podium as he finished fifth.
Ganemat Sekhon shines
Over at the shotgun ranges where day 1 qualifications in all the four events began, Ganemat Sekhon in the women’s skeet, was the best Indian on show, after she shot a three-round score of 74, to stay behind leader Samantha Simonton (75) of the USA.
Maheshwari Chauhan, was further back with 69.
In the men’s skeet, Chauhan’s Paris Olympics mixed team partner Anantjeet Singh Naruka, shot 73 to be in third position in the 10-man field. Senior pro Mairaj Khan was lying seventh with 71.
In men’s trap, Vivaan Kapoor shot a 73 to lie second behind Australian James Willet on countback. Bhowneesh Mendiratta was placed fourth with 72 hits after the first three rounds.
Finally, Shreyasi Singh shot 66 and Rajeshwari Kumari 58, to lie ninth and 11th respectively in the women’s trap competition. Italian Silvana Maria Stanco, Paris Olympics silver medallist, was leading the field with a perfect 75.
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