Suruchi Phogat delivered a stellar performance to win the women’s 10m air pistol gold at the Shooting World Cup in Munich on Friday, edging past Camille Jedrzejewski of France by just 0.2 points in a tense final.
This win marks a remarkable hat-trick of gold medals for the 19-year-old this season, having already topped the podium at the World Cups in Buenos Aires and Lima. It was also her fifth medal in as many events this year—she had previously secured a gold and a bronze in the mixed team air pistol events at the last two World Cups.
After qualifying in second place with a solid score of 588, Suruchi showed remarkable calm under pressure in the final, especially after shooting a series of 9s. Despite trailing Jedrzejewski by 0.5 points going into the final two shots, Suruchi held her nerve, firing a 10.5 and 9.5 to seal the victory.
Yao Qianxun of China, who topped the qualification round with 589, had to settle for the bronze.
India’s Manu Bhaker, a double Olympic medallist, had a disappointing outing, finishing 25th with a score of 574.
Suruchi’s gold, combined with her two earlier bronze medals, pushed India to fourth place in the overall medal standings, behind China, Norway, and Independent athletes. China leads the tally with three golds and two bronze, while Norway has two golds and a silver.
In the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol event, Anish Bhanwala scored 581 to finish 18th. Vijayveer Sidhu (572) and Ankur Goel (571) placed 36th and 37th respectively. In the RPO (Ranking Points Only) section, Adarsh Singh shot 581, while Gurmeet finished with 570.
The competition concludes on Saturday with the mixed air rifle and air pistol events.
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