Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, May 29: India enjoyed a remarkable day at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol leg in Munich as Suruchi Inder Singh clinched gold and Esha Singh secured silver in the women’s 10m air pistol event, propelling the country to the top of the medal standings.
Suruchi successfully defended the gold medal she had won at the same venue last year, finishing with a score of 242.1 in the final. Esha followed closely with 241.2 to claim silver, while South Korea’s Choo Gaeun settled for bronze.
With the latest success, India’s tally at the second ISSF World Cup leg of the year now stands at two gold medals and one silver, with the mixed team rifle and pistol events still remaining on the schedule.
Earlier in the qualification round, both Indian shooters narrowly secured places in the final after shooting identical scores of 578. They edged out reigning Olympic champion Oh Yejin of South Korea by a single point to claim the final two qualification spots.
Choo Gaeun topped qualification with a score of 583, while France’s London Olympics silver medallist Celine Goberville and Bulgaria’s European champion Miroslava Mincheva also advanced to the final.
In the medal round, Esha made the stronger start and was placed third after the opening series of five shots, while Suruchi found herself in fifth position.
As the contest progressed, Suruchi steadily improved with a series of high-scoring shots above 10, gradually closing the gap on Choo, who had looked set to dominate early in the final.
The competition intensified around the 15th and 16th shots, with Esha and Celine battling for medal positions before the French shooter was eliminated, guaranteeing medals for both Indians.
Under mounting pressure, Choo’s accuracy dipped at a crucial stage, allowing Suruchi to move into the lead after the 19th shot. Esha maintained her consistency to secure silver ahead of the Korean shooter.
Going into the final shot, Esha attempted a late comeback with an impressive 10.7, but Suruchi’s composed 10.3 was enough to comfortably seal the gold medal.
Speaking after the win, Suruchi said she competed without pressure and expressed satisfaction at defending her title. The victory marked her fourth World Cup gold medal and fifth ISSF gold overall in just two years.
Esha also completed an outstanding campaign, adding the silver medal to the gold she had already won in the women’s 25m pistol event earlier this week, where she had set a world record score.
Meanwhile, India endured disappointment in the men’s 50m rifle three positions event after Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who had initially qualified for the final with a score of 592, was disqualified following a post-competition equipment inspection that reportedly found discrepancies in his rifle dimensions.
In the same event, Rudrankksh Patil finished 53rd with a score of 585.
In the men’s 25m rapid-fire pistol competition, Anish placed 27th with 577 points, while teammates Udhayveer Sidhu and Suraj Sharma both scored 574 to finish 37th and 39th respectively.