India’s Prithviraj Tondaiman shot two perfect rounds of 25 while teammate Kynan Chenai missed just one bird to stay on course for the men’s trap finals after the first day of qualifying at the International Shooting Sport Federation Shotgun World Cup in Acapulco, Mexico.
Tondaiman on of only seven shooters from a field of 107 who shot a perfect 50 after the first two rounds. Chenai shot 49, while the seasoned Manavjit Sandhu secured a score of 46.
Three more rounds of qualifying will take place on Tuesday before the top six make it to the finals. There are two Tokyo 2020 quota places up for grabs in this event.
However, the Indian women’s trap team bowed out of the World Cup. Shagun Chowdhary was the best Indian, securing the 19th spot with a score of 116 out of 125. Rajeshwari Kumari came in 36th with 112 while Varsha Varman shot 105 to end in the 52nd place.
Italy’s former Olympic and world champion Jessica Rossi picked up the first gold medal of the competition, also claiming a Tokyo 2020 quota place for her country in the process as she won the women’s trap with a final round score of 45. She finished ahead of Australian Laetisha Scanlan (43) while China’s Deng Weiyun won the other quota place on offer with a bronze after shooting a score of 32 in the finals. Scanlan had already secured her quota earlier and was not eligible.