New Delhi: Indian shooting star Elavenil Valarivan clinched the bronze medal in the women’s 10m air rifle final at the ISSF World Cup in Munich on Tuesday, after leading through much of the competition. The 25-year-old posted a final score of 231.2, finishing behind China’s rising 18-year-old talent Wang Zifei, who secured gold with a dominant 252.7, and South Korea’s Olympic champion Kwon Eunji, who took silver with 252.6.
Elavenil began the final on a high note, starting with a 10.7 followed by a 10.8, and trailed Kwon Eunji by just 0.3 points after the first five shots. She surged ahead with another 10.8 to briefly claim the top spot from Wang. By the 12th shot, Elavenil led the field with 127.2 points, staying narrowly ahead of the Chinese teenager.
Despite a couple of low-scoring 10.1s, Elavenil rebounded with a 10.7 to regain her footing. However, a crucial 9.8 in the latter stages of the final saw her slip to third, where she ultimately finished.
Earlier in the day, Elavenil delivered a stellar performance in qualification, finishing second with a score of 635.9 over six series — setting a new national record in the process. She was bested only by Wang Zifei, who set a new world qualification record with 637.9. Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad (635.7) and Korea’s Eunji (635.6) followed closely in third and fourth, respectively.
Among other Indian shooters, national champion Ananya Naidu placed 15th with 632.4, while Ramita Jindal, competing for ranking points only (RPO), scored 632.6 to finish 13th. Meghana Sajjanar (RPO) and Arya Borse ranked 25th and 60th, respectively.
In the men’s 10m air pistol event, Nishant Rawat recorded a 582 to stand fifth in Qualification Relay 1, while Aditya Malra scored 578 to finish 18th.
Meanwhile, in the precision stage of the women’s 25m pistol qualification, Esha Singh impressed with a 294 to take fourth place. Manu Bhaker, a double bronze medallist from the Paris Olympics, scored 290 to sit 12th, and Simranpreet Kaur Brar was 19th with 288. The rapid-fire stage and final are scheduled for Wednesday.
