Shooting
ISSF World Cup: Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker shoot 10m mixed pistol gold
The sensational duo of Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker notched up the 10m mixed air pistol gold in the ISSF World Cup
Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary
Teenage sensations Saurabh Chaudhary and Manu Bhaker notched up the 10m air pistol mixed team gold medal in the ISSF shooting World Cup here on Monday, continuing the host country's solid performance at the marquee event.
The 18-year-old Chaudhary and the 19-year-old Bhaker defeated Golnoush Sebhatollahi and Javed Foroughi of Iran 16-12, making a brilliant rally after trailing 0-4 at the end of the second series to give table-toppers India their fifth gold at the ongoing event. This was the pair's fifth World Cup mixed team gold medal.
The Iranians began well but once the Indians overcame their starting troubles, they were unstoppable and lived up to the huge expectations by claiming the top prize. Also for India, Yashaswini Singh Deswal and Abhishek Verma bagged the bronze medal after getting the better of Turkey's Sevval Ilayda Tarhan and Ismail Keles 17-13 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.
The fancied Indians began on an unexpected note, conceding a 2-0 lead in the first series and their determined rivals doubled it by the end of the next series. Foroughi and Sebhatollahi got off to a great start, maintaining a four-point lead over Chaudhary and Bhaker for a majority of the match. However, the home favourites then got their act together and started shooting like they are normally expected to.
The Indian duo won three series in a row to turn a 6-10 deficit into a 12-10 lead. After they went ahead of their opponents, Bhaker and Chaudhary held on to their advantage to emerge deserving winners. The Indians were second in the qualification with a total of 384.
In the bronze medal match, Deswal and Verma dominated from the start, taking a huge 8-0 lead in the first four series, before Turkey came fighting strongly to make it 10-8 after nine series. After that, they pulled ahead of their opponents to finish third on the podium.
Earlier this morning, Elavenil Valarivan and Divyansh Singh Panwar had combined to claim the 10m air rifle mixed team gold.
