Key Points

In the pistol mixed team event, India’s first pair in air pistol, Surbhi Rao (284) and Amit Sharma (290), registered a combined qualification score of 574-20x to finish 11th. The second pair, Olympian Rhythm Sangwan (289) and Nishant Rawat (282), finished 13th with a score of 571-15x.

The gold medal in the air pistol mixed team went to China’s in-form pair, Qianxun Yao and Kai Hu, who claimed a dominant 17-5 victory over Czechia’s Veronika Schejbalova and Jindrich Dubovy. This was back-to-back World Cup golds for the Chinese duo after their triumph in Munich, adding to their silvers in Buenos Aires and Lima earlier this year. Hungary’s Veronika Major and Akos Karoly Nagy secured the bronze, defeating the Neutral Athletes’ team of Iana Enina and Anton Aristarkhov 17-13.

In the air rifle mixed team event, India’s Ramita Jindal (312.9) and Umamahesh Maddineni (315.7) shot 628.6 to finish 14th. The second Indian pair, Meghana M. Sajjanar (312.8) and Divyansh Singh Panwar (309.3), managed 622.1, placing them 34th.

The rifle final saw Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad and Jon-Hermann Hegg emerge champions with a 15-9 win over China’s Xinlu Peng and Lihao Sheng, who had earlier broken the world record during qualification with 636.9. The Norwegian duo added this gold to their Lima victory and Munich bronze. China’s Peng and Sheng collected a second successive silver, while Italy’s Carlotta Salafia and Danilo Dennis Sollazzo completed the podium with bronze.

India will look to open its medal account on Wednesday when Amit Sharma, Nishant Rawat, and Samrat Rana take to the range in the Men’s 10m Air Pistol. The field features a high-quality line-up of 65 athletes, including China’s World No.1 Hu Kai, winner of the last three World Cups’ gold; Neutral Athlete and World No.5 Anton Aristarkhov; and World No.6 Jason Solari of Switzerland, silver and bronze medallists respectively in Buenos Aires. Brazil’s Felipe Almeida Wu, currently World No.8 and silver medallist in Lima, will also be in contention. Paris Olympic medallists Federico Nilo Maldini (silver) and Paolo Monna (bronze) of Italy, alongside Hungary’s Akos Karoly Nagy, add further depth to the draw. Qualification begins at 7:15 AM IST with the finals scheduled for 10:00 AM IST.

The Women’s 25m Pistol (Precision Stage) qualification also begins tomorrow, where Olympian Rahi Sarnobat, Abhidnya Ashok Patil, and Divya T.S. from India will go up against a competitive 57-strong field. The line-up includes Korea’s Yang Jiin, Paris Olympic gold medallist and World No.5, along with Olympic silver and bronze medallist Camille Jedrzejewski of France and Veronika Major of Hungary. World No.2 Yejin Oh of Korea, the reigning Olympic champion in 10m Air Pistol, World No.3 Qianxun Yao of China, and World No.8 Haniyeh Rostamiyan of Iran are also in contention.

- IANS