Indian Olympian Divyasnsh Singh Panwar had struck gold in the men’s event with a world record score in the final while Sonam Uttam Maskar, competing in her first International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup, bagged silver in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the Egypt International Olympic City Shooting range, in Cairo late on Sunday.
In a display of stunning rifle shooting, Divyansh Singh Panwar set a new world record for the final with a tally of 253.7, eclipsing Chinese Sheng Lihao’s 253.3, set at the Asian Games in Hangzhou last year.
Divyansh had shown early form, topping qualification with a world-class 632.4 before bossing the 24-shot final with sensational precision shooting, leaving silver-winning Italian Dani Sollazo 1.9 points behind.
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Not only did he not shoot any score below 10, but two of his shots, the fourth and sixth were perfect 10.9s.
The Indian shooting team had yet another day to remember as Sonam shot 252.1 in the eight-woman final, finishing 0.9 behind Germany’s Anna Janssen. Poland’s Aneta Stankiewicz won bronze.
India are now firmly on the top of the table in the season-opening World Cup stage with two gold and three silver medals in their kitty after three days of competition.
Two Indians, Sonam and Nancy had made the final after shooting scores of 632.7 and 633.1 to finish the 60-shot qualification round in fifth and fourth spots respectively.
Sonam, however, was strongest off the blocks in the 24-shot final, her 53.0 for her first five shots series, giving her the early lead.
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It was quite an unprecedented final, with the scores huddled so close to each other that at the end of 10 shots, the difference between the leader Sonam and Nancy, who was placed eighth at that stage, was amazingly just 0.8.
Anna took over the lead from Sonam after the 14th shot as despite a 10.9 again by Sonam on the 13th, Anna’s consistent high 10s bore fruit.
At one stage it did look like it would be a double podium for India, but Poland’s Stankiewicz pipped Nancy for bronze, while Sonam despite brilliant shooting could not catch up with the experienced Janssen.
Other Indian scores on the day
Women’s 25m pistol- Qualification Day 1 Precision Round
Simranpreet Kaur Brar- score 290, position: 3rd
Rhythm Sangwan- score 288, position 12th
Manu Bhaker- score 287, position 16th
Men’s 10m Air Rifle
Arjun Babuta (qualification: 630.7, 4th)
Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (qualification: 629.3, 10th)
Women’s 10m Air Rifle
Tilotttama Sen (qualification: 627.6, 29th).
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