Yuemei sets women’s air pistol world mark

China’s Lin Yuemei set a world record in the women’s 10m air pistol as the shooting superpower continued its domination in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at the Karni Singh ranges on Sunday. Lin upstaged compatriot and Rio Olympics champion Zhang Mengxue, who claimed silver.

It provided another example in the gulf in performance between China and India, although the target of the shooters from both countries is the same, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The overall performance of the Chinese shooters in the season-opening World Cup indicated the head start they have got, while Indian shooters, who failed to win a medal at the Rio Games, are still struggling to find rhythm.

SATISFIED

However, India’s Russian pistol coach Smirnov Pavel expressed satisfaction over the national team’s performances, saying the main goal is to make an impact at the Tokyo 2020. “Neeraj Kumar in 25m rapid fire and Harveen Srao in (women’s) 10m air pistol have reached the final, and that indicates things are going in the right direction. Winning a medal is not that important (now) as the training cycle has been designed to excel in 2020,’’ he said.

On Saturday, Neeraj had finished eighth and last in the 25m rapid fire event final. Pavel’s logic didn’t appear sound, going by the performance of Harveen Srao. She entered the final of the 10m air pistol, finishing seventh. Heena Sidhu, the other prominent shooter, failed to qualify for the final. In the preliminary round, she scored 378/400 to finish 11th in a field of 37 shooters.

In the final, Harveen Srao, a former world junior champion, had a nervous start. In her first attempt, in the initial series of five shots, she scored only 8.9. It could be counted as a bad shot, but her better shots were scattered and not grouped, which should be a worrying factor for the coach. After a slow start, Harveen wasn’t steady in the competition that featured China’s Rio Olympics champion, Zhang Mengxue. On Harveen’s early elimination in the final, India’s team coach said, ‘’His job is to give education, but it is up to the shooter to show some courage to withstand the challenging conditions during the final.”

In the qualification, Harveen Srao scored 379/400 and was the last of eight qualifiers who made it to the final.

WORLD MARK

Zhang Mengxue had a good start and led the field after the first five shots, but was shaky in the next series, one of which fetched her a mere 7.8 points. But she showed grit to regain lost ground and eventually win silver with a score of 237.8. Compatriot Lin Yuemei shot 240.8 to win gold and set a world record.

INDIAN SHOOTERS, WHO FAILED TO WIN A MEDAL AT THE RIO GAMES, ARE STILL STRUGGLING TO FIND RHYTHM