NEW DELHI, Apr 12: Sonam Maskar put up a brave fight but finished fifth in the women’s 10m air rifle final as India concluded their World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) campaign in Granada with one gold medal on Sunday.
Sonam shot 188.5, bowing out after the 18th shot of the 24-shot final.
World No. 1 Wang Zifei of China won gold with a score of 252.9. Women’s 3P world champion Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway took silver with 252.4, while former air rifle world champion Han Jiayu of China claimed bronze with 231.5.
Indians reached seven finals, but only the 10m air pistol pair of Mukesh Nelavalli and Palak won gold on the opening day of competition.
Sonam shot 632.8 in the first qualification relay to qualify in seventh place for the final. Mehuli Ghosh, with 627.3, was placed 44th, while Shruti, the third Indian in the field, shot 624.8 to finish 63rd in the 91-strong field.
Sonam began the final with a strong 10.6 but followed that up with a 9.8, which probably cost her a podium finish in the end given the high quality final.
She did well to save herself from elimination thrice, a perfect 10.9 on her 14th being the high point of her fight. In the end, Sonam, seeking a second World Cup individual medal, left too much to recover and despite a 10.5 to close, fell short.
Earlier, Niraj Kumar shot 589 in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions qualification round, while Akhil Sheoran shot 588 to finish 15th and 22nd respectively. Chain Singh could not make it past elimination on Saturday itself. (PTI)
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