India completed a double-medal podium at the ISSF World Cup on Wednesday as Jitu Rai and Amanpreet Singh clinched the gold and silver medal in 50m Pistol. Rai shot a world record score of 230.1 to finish on top while, Amanpreet Singh, in his first World Cup final, shot a total of 226.9.
The two Indians competed in a rare shoot-off for the top two spots as the home crowd cheered. The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna-awardee Jitu Rai held his nerve to fire a series of almost perfect shots and grab the gold. Amanpreet, who lead the field for a long time, finished second.
During the final, Rai was initially languishing towards the bottom, on the verge of elimination at one point. However, he cut a deficit of 4.2 points in his last six points - an astonishing performance - to come first, overtaking the Olympics medallist and his compatriot.
Earlier, Amanpreet Singh & Jitu Rai had qualified for the final in the first and second position respectively with a commanding performance scoring a total of 561 and 559 points. The new rules meant that they started the final with a blank sheet, and they managed to replicate the same success.
This is Jitu Rai’s second medal in two days as he won the bronze in the 10 metre Air Pistol final on Tuesday. He had similarly climbed up from the bottom in that final as well. He had earlier won the won a gold, in the mixed team event with Heena Sidhu.
With these two medals, India’s medal haul at the World Cup in Delhi is up to five.
