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India secured third place at the Munich World Cup, winning two gold and two bronze medals, despite making seven finals in 10 events.
Indian shooter Elavenil Valarivan
India achieved a commendable third-place finish at the recently concluded World Cup in Munich, one of the most prestigious and challenging tournaments on the ISSF’s annual calendar, thanks to consistent final appearances and two gold medals.
This marks India’s third top-three finish in four World Cups this year, with two gold and two bronze medals. The team not only improved its standing from joint third last year but also doubled its medal count, including the number of gold medals.
“The Munich World Cup, an annual feature of the International Shooting calendar held at the revered Olympic Shooting range from the 1972 Munich Olympics, has once again brought out the best in our rifle and pistol shooters,” said K. Sultan Singh, Secretary General of the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI). He added, “Despite concerns about the tough competition and some of our best shooters not being part of the squad, our athletes have proven that the depth in Indian shooting is more formidable than ever.”
He congratulated the entire squad, including the coaches and support staff, for their remarkable results throughout the year.
The highlight for India at Munich and throughout this international season has been the stunning consistency of rising women’s pistol star Suruchi Singh. The Haryana teenager won an unprecedented third consecutive individual ISSF World Cup stage gold in the women’s 10m air pistol, two months after a memorable debut in Buenos Aires. She achieved what no Indian has ever done before.
Another highlight was Arya Borse and Olympian Arjun Babuta’s impressive win over the Chinese world record holders Sheng Lihao and Wang Zifei in the 10m air rifle mixed team final, outscoring their opponents 17-7.
This victory showcased the depth and newfound confidence in Indian shooting.
Elavenil Valarivan (women’s 10m air rifle), a two-time Olympian, and Sift Kaur Samra (50m rifle 3 positions women), an Olympian and world record holder, also reinforced their status as world-class shooters with bronze-winning performances in Munich. Elavenil set a new qualifications national record of 635.9 en route to her bronze, while Suruchi equalled Manu Bhaker’s qualifications national mark of 588 in the women’s air pistol.
Indian World Cup debutants also delivered encouraging performances. Ananya Naidu shot a solid 632.4 to finish 13th in women’s 10m air rifle, while Nishant Rawat (10m air pistol men) and Aditya Malra (air pistol men) shot scores of 582 and 578 to finish 10th and 27th respectively.
India made a total of seven finals in the 10 events in Munich, with Bhaker (women’s 25m pistol), Varun Tomar (men’s 10m air pistol), and Chain Singh (men’s 3P) making the cut.
China topped the standings with seven medals, including four gold, while Norway edged India to second place based on having won a silver with the same number of golds and medals as India. A total of 11 nations, including the individual neutral athletes group, won medals in Munich.
The ISSF bandwagon will move to Lonato Del Garda in Italy next month for the year’s fourth Shotgun World Cup stage, while the fourth and final rifle/pistol World Cup is scheduled for Ningbo in China in September.
(With inputs from PTI)
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket, having cov…Read More
Ritayan Basu, Senior Sub-Editor, Sports at News18.com. Has been covering domestic and and international football for nearly a decade. Has played and covered badminton. Ocassionally writes on cricket, having cov… Read More
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