Rahi Sarnobat shoots national record at Changwon World Cup

After shooting 291 in the precision stage, Rahi came up with 297 in the ‘’duelling’’ session, to improve on the national record, by three points.

After shooting 291 in the precision stage, Rahi Sarnobat came up with 297 in the ‘’duelling’’ session, to improve on the national record, by three points.

Rahi Sarnobat shot a national record, 588 out of 600, to top qualification in women’s 25-metre sports pistol, but missed a medal by a point in the shooting World Cup, in Korea, on Monday.

Competing at the same venue, where she had won the World Cup gold, in 2013, Rahi slipped on a bad start, and the sixth round of the final, when she could muster only two points, each time, out of a maximum possible five, proved costly.

Elena Galiabovitch, of Australia, and Yao Yushi, of China, who pipped Rahi by a point, to march on, ended up with the gold and bronze, respectively.

READ: Ravi Kumar misses medal by a whisker at Changwon World Cup

After shooting 291 in the precision stage, Rahi came up with 297 in the ‘’duelling’’ session, to improve on the national record, by three points.

Interestingly, Elena had been outclassed on way to the gold, by Heena, in the Commonwealth Games (CWG), recently, in Gold Coast. Heena had to settle for the 37th spot, this time, with a score of 575.

In the mixed air rifle team event, the Indian pair of Apurvi Chandela and Ravi Kumar settled for the fifth place, as it missed progress by an agonising margin of 0.1 point, after having qualified in the second place.

The other Indian pair of Mehuli Ghosh and Deepak Kumar was placed eighth from among 63 teams, of which two were disqualified, including the one from host Korea, owing to equipment not meeting the norms. In a highly competitive field, Mehuli and Deepak missed the final by a point.

In women’s trap, Rajeshwari Kumar shot the best among the Indian shooters, with a total of 116, following rounds of 21, 24, 24, 24 and 23. However, that was in the MQS section. Competing for a medal, Shagun Chowdhary (108), Shreyasi Singh (106) and Seema Tomar (99) were placed 26th, 33rd and 47th, respectively, in a field of 55 shooters.

Beijing Olympics gold medallist Satu Makela-Nummela, of Finland, bagged the gold, four points ahead of Fatima Galvez, of Spain, while Alessandra Perilli, of San Marino, who shot a world record 122, in topping qualification, ended up third.

In men’s trap, former World Champion Manavjit Singh Sandhu shot 48, following rounds of 25 and 23. He was two points behind the leader Yavuz Ilnam, of Turkey. Zoravar Singh Sandhu (47) and Kynan Chenai (46) followed close on the heels of Manavjit, in a field of 82 shooters, who will compete for over three more rounds, before the top six make the final.

The results:

10m air rifle mixed team: 1. China (Zhao Ruozhu, Yang Haoran) 499.3 (836.3); 2. Russia (Daria Vdovina, Vladimir Maslennikov) 498.8 (838.7); 3. Korea (Song Soojoo, Keum Jihyeon) 435.4 (838.3); 5. India (Apurvi Chandela, Ravi Kumar) 351.0 (836.5); 8. India-2 (Mehuli Ghosh, Deepak Kumar) 835.3.

Women:

25m sports pistol: 1. Elena Galiabovitch (Aus) 34(2,3) 583; 2. Lin Yuemei (Chn) 34 (2, 2) 584; 3. Yao Yushi (Chn) 30 (584); 4. Rahi Sarnobat 26 (588); 37. Heena Sidhu 575; 41. Annu Raj Singh 573.

Trap: 1. Satu Makela-Nummela (Fin) 41 (118)2; 2. Fatima Galvez (Esp) 37 (118)3; 3. Alessandra Perilli (Smr) 27 (122 WR); 26. Shagun Chowdhary 108; 33. Shreyasi Singh 106; 47. Seema Tomar 99. MQS: Rajeshwari Kumari 116.