New Delhi: It was double delight for India on competition day four of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol leg in Munich, as Suruchi Inder Singh struck gold and Esha Singh silver in the women’s 10m air pistol, helping them rise to the top of the medal tally.
Suruchi shot 242.1 to defend the gold she won last year at the Olympic Shooting range, while her senior teammate shot 241.2 to settle for silver. Korean Choo Gaeun won bronze.
India now has two gold and one silver at the year’s second ISSF World Cup leg, with the two mixed events in rifle and pistol, left to be played on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, the duo just about made the final, claiming the last two qualification spots. Both shot 578, pipping the reigning Olympic champion Oh Yejin by a point. Choo topped the field with a 583, while London Olympics silver medalist Celine Goberville of France and Bulgarian Miroslava Mincheva (580), the reigning European champion and winner of the bronze medal in the 25m pistol two days back, were among the others to go through.
Suruchi had a slower start compared to Esha, coming in at fifth after the first series of five single shots. Esha was third behind Celine and Choo at this stage. As the final warmed up, Suruchi began finding her range, Esha and Celine were blowing hot and cold, and Choo was threatening to pull away.
In the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol, Anish’s effort of 577 fetched him 27th spot. Teammates Udhayveer Sidhu (574) and Suraj Sharma (574) were further back in 37th and 39th positions. IANS
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