Ravi ends last, Peni shoots to gold
NEW DELHI: India’s Ravi Kumar failed to break the jinx, finishing eighth in the final of men’s 10m air rifle on the second day of the World Cup Final at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Ranges on Wednesday.
In February this year, Kumar had finished at the same position in the final of the season opening World Cup here. In the Munich World Cup in May, the Indian shooter finished fifth. It was Kumar’s third final of the season, and there were expectations. He was steady in the qualification round, scoring 623.9 to end fifth, making cut for the final. The top eight enter the medal round.
Kumar started the final round on a promising note. His first shot of the five-shot series fetched 10.5. But he missed the inner circle in his fourth shot, scoring just 9.2. The error proved costly as he slipped down from fourth to the bottom place among eight. “It was a bad day. I wasn’t able to recover from a bad shot,” he said after the match.
“I am very disappointed with this performance. That one nine let me down and I could not come back. I have been practising hard for this and that is what I am disappointed. I am now looking for- ward to the Commonwealth Shooting Championships (in Gold Coast, Australia),” said the 27-year-old Kumar.
His personal coach Manoj Kumar too looked disappointed. “There is no scope of error in the final,” he added. Twenty-year-old Istvan Peni of Hungary claimed gold with a world junior record of 249.8 points.
RISING STAR
Peni, who despite being a junior often competes in the senior category, displayed steady shooting that helped him win the title in his first World Cup Final appearance. Vitali Bubnovich of Belarus won silver with 249.5.
In fact, both the top two shooters were neck and neck in the closing stages and the gold was decided on the last shot, with Peni scoring 10.0. Bubnovich shot 9.9 to settle for second spot.
Peni’s more seasoned teammate Peter Sidi won bronze with a total of 228.5.