Besides Aishwary Pratap Singh, another Indian Akhil Sheoran qualified for the ranking round with a score of 587.
Follow Us
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar consolidated India’s position at the ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo as he bagged India’s fourth gold medal on February 22, 2023. He accomplished this by overcoming Rio Olympian Alexander Schmirl of Austria by 16-6 in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event. The 10.5 mark appeared to be the luckiest for Aishwary on Wednesday, as he hit it six times to claim the gold medal. Earlier in the day, the 20-year-old was the best shooter during the qualifications with a score of 588 to enter the ranking round.
Aishwary faltered during the kneeling stage at the beginning of the ranking round. However, he quickly recovered as the prone round began and improved as the tournament went on. Despite a late stumble, his strong start in the standing position allowed him to qualify for the gold-medal playoff. Aishwary finished second in the ranking round with a total of 406.4 to Schmirl’s 407.9. Schmirl showcased his brilliance in the ranking phase right from the start till the end, concluding with a great 1.5 mark ahead of Tomar.
Besides Aishwary, another Indian Akhil Sheoran qualified for the ranking round with a score of 587, finishing second just behind the eventual-gold medalist. In the ranking stage, Akhil started poorly but bounced back and was almost leading at the end of the prone round. However, he couldn’t carry on the momentum going to the standing position by ultimately finishing seventh, thus ending outside the podium. The other Indians who competed in the event – Pankaj Mukheja, Swapnil Kusale, and Harshit Binjwa finished 28th, 30th, and 40th respectively.
Read more: Indian Shooters who excelled in the year 2022
India are the present toppers of the medal tally at the ongoing ISSF World Cup 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, with four gold and two bronze. The other three gold medals were won by the India’s mixed 10m air rifle and pistol teams, and the reigning World champion Rudrannksh Balasaheb Patil. The 14-year-old Tilottama Sen from Karnataka and Varun Tomar claimed the two bronze medals for the nation. The World Cup concludes tomorrow with the women’s 50m rifle 3 Positions final and men’s 25m rapid fire pistol final to be held on the concluding day. The two events will feature the likes of Tokyo Olympian and World no.1 Anjum Moudgil and the Commonwealth Games 2018 gold medalist Anish Bhanwala.
Read more: Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil – The successor of Abhinav Bindra?
