New Delhi: India jumped to the top of the pecking order as young Manu Bhaker clinched gold in the women’s 10m air pistol while Ravi Kumar bagged a bronze in the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Bhaker beat Mexico’s Alejandra Zavala, a two-time World Cup finals winner, with a 10.8 in the last shot of the 24 shot final, to come out on top with 237.5. Zavala ended at 237.1 while Celine Goberville of France had the bronze with 217.0.
India’s Yashaswini Singh Deswal missed out on a medal, finishing fourth with 196.1. An 11th standard student, Bhaker, who recently secured a quota place for the 2018 Buenos Aires Youth Olympic Games, continued India’s surge in the season’s first World Cup.
Earlier, Ravi Kumar won his first World Cup medal — a bronze in the men’s 10m air rifle event. Talented young Hungarian Istvan Peni, the world number one, won gold, shooting 249.5 ahead of Austria’s Alexander Schmirl (248.7).
This was India’s fourth medal of the competition with Shahzar Rizvi and Jitu Rai taking gold and bronze in the men’s 10m air pistol and Mehuli Ghosh’s bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle event on day one of competition.
Reacting after winning the medal, Manu Bhaker said, “I am extremely happy at winning gold, especially as this is my first World Cup. I look forward to performing even better in upcoming competitions.”
