The second day of the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Delhi is set to be an action-packed one, with as many as three finals lined up on Sunday. The finals in men’s 50m rifle 3 Positions, men’s 10m air pistol and women’s 25m sport pistol will offer two Olympic quota places each. After a golden start to India’s campaign with Apurvi Chandela winning the women’s 10m air rifle gold, the hope will be to see ore medals added to India’s tally.
Sunday will be the second stage of qualifying for the men’s 50m 3P and women’s 25m pistol. On Saturday, India’s Sanjeev Rajput shot a solid 1173 in the elimination round to finish fourth in his relay. Parul Kumar in the second elimination relay shot 1149 to make it through to qualification. However, Chain Singh missed out shooting 1145 to finish 35th in relay 2.
Meanwhile, Manu Bhaker shot a stunning series to top the first Precision stage of the Women’s 25m Pistol in the 68-strong field at this stage. Teammates Chinki Yadav with 288 and Rahi Sarnobat with 287 were lying 22nd and 25th respectively. Bhaker, 16, will carry Indian hopes in the event after her superb first day, but a lot will also be expected of Asian Games champion Sarnobat in the rapid stage, which she excels at.
The qualification stage of men’s rifle 3P as well as the rapid stage of women’s sport pistol will be held on Sunday, ahead of the final.
In the men’s 10m air pistol, all eyes will be on Asian Games gold medallist Saurabh Chaudhary. The 16-year-old has been in good form since the medal on his senior India debut, also winning the Youth Olympics gold.
Abhishek Verma, who won the Asiad bronze, and Ravinder Singh will also be in the fray.
