Pooja wins 10m air rifle bronze
India open medal count on first day; Deepak finishes fifth in the men’s event
NEWDELHI: India’s Pooja Ghatkar won bronze in the women’s 10-metre air rifle on the opening day of the International Shooting Sports Federation World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges here on Friday.
Elated after the podium finish, Ghatkar said: “It was a great start for me and the team. Good score of 418.0 in the qualification gave me confidence.”
The final is of 24 shots. The eliminations start after 12 shots with the shooter with lowest score bowing out. The process is repeated after every two shots.
ENSURING BRONZE
After the 19th shot in the final, it was apparent that the battle for the top three positions will be between the three Chinese shooters and Ghatkar.
With China’s Mingyang Wu getting eliminated on the 20th shot, Ghatkar was assured of a bronze. Of course the other two Chinese shooters — Mengyao Shi and Lijie Dong were far ahead. Shi won gold with 252.1 points and Dong’s settled for silver with 248.9. Ghatkar got bronze with 228.8 points.
Ghatkar had a minor setback in the final after her blinder tore. But she stayed calm. “It was very tricky situation. There were five shots left and a slip up could have spoiled the show,’’ she said.
In the build up to the event, Ghatkar, 28, was training in Pune with London Olympic Games bronze medallist Gagan Narang. Ghatkar said it made lot of difference both mentally and technically. “We also discussed a few key points on Thursday. It helped me stay focused throughout the preliminary round and the final,’’ she said.
Despite reaching the final of the men’s 10m air rifle, Ravi Kumar and Deepak Kumar were unimpressive. Deepak finished fifth with 185.4 points, while Ravi was the first to be eliminated.
Buhan Song of China got the second gold for his team with a world record of 249.5. It was also a junior world record.
In women’s trap, India’s Rajeshwari Kumari shot 64 to finish 17th while Seema Tomar shot 60 and was 22nd in a field of 29 shooters. Penny Smith of Australia shot 40 for gold, setting a new world record.
It was a great start for me and the team. Good score of 418.0 in the qualification gave me confidence POOJA GHATKAR, Shooter