New Delhi: Suruchi claimed her second medal of the competition while former Asian Games champion Saurabh Chaudhary bagged an International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) medal after two years, as the pair took bronze, winning the 10m air pistol mixed team match 16-8 over compatriots Manu Bhaker and Ravinder Singh, on the concluding day of the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun Argentina 2025.
With two Indian Olympians on either side of the competitive divide, Saurabh emerged as the most consistent of the four shooters to help seal the deal with a 10.7 in the 12th and what ended up as the last series of the match.
Earlier, the Indian pairs had finished third and fourth respectively in qualifying behind two Chinese pairs. Suruchi and Saurabh shot a cumulative 581 while Manu and Ravinder were behind them with 579. The Chinese topped with identical scores of 582.
It was difficult to separate the two Indian pairs in the initial stages of the bronze match-up as both tied at six points apiece after the first six series of single shots fired by each shooter.
Suruchi and Saurabh then gained momentum with three straight series wins and despite Manu and Ravinder pulling one back, it was too little too late.
This is India’s eighth medal of the Argentina World Cup and they now have four gold, two silver, and two bronze to show for their efforts.
On the penultimate day of the competitions, India’s 10m air rifle mixed team pair of Rudrankksh Patil and Arya Rajesh Borse, bagged silver, going down to the crack Chinese pairing of Wang Zifei and Song Buhan 9-17 in the gold medal match.
(IANS)
