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.
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.