NEW DELHI: India enjoyed a memorable day at the ongoing ISSF World Championships on Tuesday, winning gold in the men’s 50m pistol team event and silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team competition to take their medal tally to three.The men’s trio of Ravinder Singh, Saurabh Chaudhary and Amanpreet Singh combined to score 1,659 to clinch the gold medal. Later, Elavenil Valarivan, Sonam Uttam Maskar and Shambhavi Shravan Kshirsagar secured silver in the women’s 10m air rifle team event with a combined score of 1,894.4.India are now placed second in the medal standings with one gold and two silver medals. China lead the table with five medals, including three golds.
Ravinder leads men’s team to gold, adds individual silver
Ravinder was India’s top performer in the men’s 50m pistol competition, shooting 559, including 11 inner 10s. Saurabh, a multiple-time World Cup gold medallist, contributed 551, while Amanpreet added 549 to take India’s combined tally to 1,659.China finished second with 1,648, while South Korea claimed bronze with 1,643.Ravinder also secured the individual silver medal with his score of 559, finishing two points behind gold medallist Anton Aristarkhov of the Authorised Neutral Athletes (AIN), who shot 561. Romania’s Luca Joldea claimed bronze with 558.The men’s 50m pistol is not part of the Olympic programme.
Elavenil qualifies for individual final
The Indian women’s trio finished behind China, who won gold with 1,899.8 points. Japan took bronze with 1,892.6.Elavenil was India’s best performer in the qualification round, shooting 634.2 points. Sonam contributed 630.5, while Shambhavi added 629.7.Elavenil’s performance also earned her a place in the individual final after she finished third in qualification. She will now have an opportunity to compete for an individual medal and India’s first Olympic quota place at the championships.The men’s 10m air rifle event, meanwhile, proved disappointing for India, with Rakesh Mane, Himanshu Dhillon and Paarth Makhija failing to make the team and individual finals.
Doha offers first LA 2028 qualification opportunity
The championships in Doha are the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics and the biggest of the qualification cycle so far.A total of 36 Olympic quota places are available, with three on offer in each of the 12 individual Olympic shooting events. India did not have an opportunity to secure shooting quotas at the recent Asian Games, making this its first chance to earn places for Los Angeles.Each country can secure a maximum of one quota place per event at the championships, putting up to 12 Olympic berths within India’s reach, according to the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).
