New Delhi, May 28: In a remarkable debut at the ISSF World Cup in Munich, Germany, Sakshi Sunil Padekar secured the 7th position in the women’s 10-meter air rifle final.
The 22-year-old shooter from Maharashtra qualified for the finals in third place with an impressive score of 635.1, trailing only behind China’s world number one, Wang Jifei, and South Korea’s Paris Olympic champion, Hyojin Ban.
Eighteen-year-old Andelija Stevanovic from Serbia, competing in her first senior World Cup, clinched the gold medal with a total score of 252.3. The final was decided on the last shot. Japan’s Nobata Misaki also achieved her first senior World Cup medal, earning silver with a score of 252.0. Wang Jifei took home the bronze with a score of 231.1, while Olympic champion Ban finished in fourth place.
Sakshi started the final with a score of 10.5. After scoring 9.7 and 9.8 on her second and third shots, she rebounded well with scores of 10.8 and 10.7, finishing the first series with a total of 51.5 and securing sixth place. In the second series, she shot 10.6, 10.4, 10.6, 10.0, and 10.5, maintaining her sixth position with a cumulative score of 52.1.
During the first round of single shots, Sakshi maintained her sixth position with two shots scoring 10.3. On the 13th shot, she scored 10.5, gaining a slight lead over Ocean Muller, who was in seventh place. However, Muller scored a remarkable 10.9 on the 14th shot, leading to a shoot-off. Sakshi scored 10.5 on her 14th shot.
In the shoot-off, Sakshi managed a score of 10.5, while Muller scored 10.7, resulting in Sakshi finishing in seventh place with a final score of 145.2. Muller advanced to the next elimination round, finishing fifth.
Earlier, two other Indian shooters, Elavenil Valarivan and Arya Borse, finished in 19th and 63rd places, respectively, with scores of 632.1 and 627.6. The competition was intense, with the top 12 shooters scoring 633.0 or higher among 146 participants.
In the rankings, Vidarsha K. Vinod (630.6) and Tilottama Sen (630.1) placed 27th and 32nd, respectively. After Stage 1 of the 25-meter rapid fire pistol event, Anish Bhanwala was the highest-placed Indian shooter, finishing 18th with a score of 290-10x.
Anish Bhanwala, an Olympian, is still in contention for a top-eight finish. Suraj Sharma, making his senior debut, scored 284-11x, while Udayveer Sidhu, also debuting at the senior level, scored 288-14x, facing a tough challenge to reach the finals.
As the competitions in Munich approach their conclusion, three finals will take place tomorrow: women’s 10-meter air pistol, men’s 50-meter rifle 3 positions, and 25-meter rapid fire pistol.
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