China Dominates Day One of ISSF World Cup Final with Three Gold Medals; Sonam Uttam Maskar Takes Home Silver

Sonam Uttam Maskar, who recently won double silver at the Cairo World Cup, continued her successful streak by clinching another silver medal at the Karni Singh Shooting range in New Delhi. Competing on day one of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Final Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun, Maskar proved her talent once again.

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 Olympic 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 on the day, as Sonam 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 to 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 (Q=628.9, 7th), the second Indian in the eight-woman final finished sixth on a score of 167.7.

The event in-fact saw a third world record, when Germany’s Anna Janssen, topped the qualification round with a scorching 636.9.

A golden sweep by China on day one was abruptly halted by France’s Camille Jedrzejewski, who capped off a brilliant year with a pillar to post victory in the women’s 10m air pistol final. Her 24-shot score of 240.8 was a huge 3.4 ahead of silver winning Liu Heng Yu of Chinese Taipei. Egypt’s Hala Elgohari won the biggest medal of her life, a first ISSF medal, finishing third on a score of 215.7.

India’s Rhythm Sangwan was fourth, losing out to Hala by 0.5 at the end of the 20th shot. Compatriot Surbhi Rao was fifth with 176.6.

The other two golds were bagged by two reigning Chinese Olympic champions in the men’s 10m air rifle and air pistol events respectively.

In the former, Sheng Lihao shot 251.4 to win from Hungary’s Istvan Peni by 0.1. It was the popular Hungarian’s seventh medal in India. Czechia’s Jiri Privratsky was third.

India’s Arjun Babuta, after leading the field till the 16th shot, missed out with below average shots for his 17th and 18th to finish fifth, while Divyansh Panwar was eighth.

In the latter Paris champion Xie Yu won gold with a score of 244.6 in the final. Germany’s Robin Walter was second while Italian Federico Maldini was third. The lone Indian in this final, Arjun Cheema, was first to bow out in eighth place.

Over at the shotgun ranges where day one 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, Maheshwari’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.

Competition day two also has four finals lined up with the men’s and women’s 50m rifle 3 positions scheduled. The women’s 25m pistol and men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol finals are also on the roster for day three.