ISSF World Cup: Rudrankksh Patil wins his second bronze in Bhopal

Reigning world champion Rudrankksh Patil won bronze in the men’s 10m Air Rifle, his second of the tournament, as China extended their golden run at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol Bhopal, winning both gold medals on offer for the second consecutive day at the M.P. Shooting Academy range.

Tokyo Olympics silver medallist Sheng Lihao of China won gold in the men’s 10m Air Rifle while compatriot Huang Yuting, a double gold medallist at the Cairo World Championships last year, won the women’s event, as China maintained top position on the medal tally at the end of competition day three with five gold, one silver and two bronze medals in their kitty.

India lies second with three bronze medals to go with a gold and silver each.

Rudrankksh wins second medal in Bhopal

Playing back-to-back matches can never be easy, especially in your home world cup, but the champion shooter that he is, Rudrankksh delivered yet again, clinching bronze from what at one point seemed like a lost cause.

He shot a solid 631.0 in qualification to finish fourth after leading in the initial stages. In the 25-shot top eight ranking round, he was well outside the medal positions till the third five-shot series, before a fantastic fourth series where he shot the highest score of 53.5, brought him back into contention.

Ramita finishes fourth

India had only one top eight finisher in Ramita in the women’s 10m Air Rifle, when she shot 632.3 to finish second among medal contenders in the 52-strong field. The top eight had two Chinese, two Americans and one shooter each from Romania, Israel and Kazakhstan, besides hosts India.

China’s Cairo Worlds champion in the Mixed Team Air Rifle, was in ominous form, topping the qualifications with a score of 632.8, while Tokyo Olympics silver medallist in the Mixed Team Air Rifle, Mary Tucker of USA, also made it through in seventh place.

In the top eights, Huang was a cut above the rest, finishing on top again with a score of 265.7 as Mary shot 261.2 for a shot at gold. Kazakhstan’s Alexandra Le pipped India’s Ramita to bronze, shooting 261.2 to the Indian’s 260.5. Huang then maintained her form on the day to defeat Mary 16-4 for China’s fifth gold of the competition.