Harpal Singh Bedi / New Delhi
Young Pistol stars Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary, brought some cheers in the host’ camp as they clinched the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team gold on the concluding day of the World Cup Shooting to enable India finished joint top with Hungary, both winning three gold medals each.
Manu and Saurabh shot a score of 483.4 in the 50 shot five-team final, a clear 5.7 points ahead of the silver winning Chinese pair of Jiang Ranxin and Zhang Bowen who shot 477.7.Korea’s Kim Minjung and Park Daehun won the Bronze with an effort of 418.8 in the finals
Manu and Saurabh also in the process shattered the junior qualifying world record as well as equaled the senior qualifying world record, when they shot 778 to top the 39-team qualifying round.
The Indian pair had a great final day ensuring India had a golden finish to add to a golden beginning when Apurvi Chandela had given India her first Gold of the competition, winning the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event.
The host’s second pair in the event, Heena Sidhu and Abhishek Verma narrowly missed the finals, ending up in ninth place with a score of 770, just two short of the fifth placed team’s score of 772.
Five teams including two teams from Korea and one each from China and Ukraine besides India had made it through to the finals.
In the day’s other event, the 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team, China’s Zhao Ruozhu and Liu
Yukun shattered the world record in the finals to win gold with a score of 503.6. Romania won silver and Korea won Bronze.
In this event the duo of Ravi Kumar and Anjum Moudgil narrowly missed making the five-team final cut, shooting a score of 836.3 in qualifying to end in seventh place.
The fifth qualifying spot went at a score of 836.5. The pair of Apurvi Chandela and Deepak Kumar, shot 831 to secure 25thposition.
Saurabh Chaudhary was joint most successful athlete of the World Cup along with Veronica Major of Hungary both having won two gold medals each
After winning the title Manu Bhakar said Ï will not call it a big relief but yes it “am satisfied. Actually the earlier events i couldn’t well despite efforts. Now I have won a medal, so it builds hope that I can do better next time. So that’s why satisfaction.”
This win was due to good understanding with Saurabh “Wwe have good understanding.” Saurabh pitched in to say “ I feel the same.
“I felt good, so many people came to cheer and support for us. It makes you feel confident” she said.
Manu asserted that she is never short of confidence “ Confidence is always there that we can match our practice scores in the match. Then I did well in 25m (qualifying) and put in my best effort in the final but it didn’t happen.
“There was disappointment but it happens. Then I couldn’t qualify for the 10m finals, I told myself I can’t do anything about it now. So I packed, went home. The next day I was confident that I can do well.”
“ She is a good shooter. I get to learn a lot from her” opined Saurabh
China won a maximum of five quotas followed by Hungary with two. Hosts India, Austria, Serbia, Italy, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Switzerland won one quota place each.
The ISSF bandwagon moves next to Acapulco, Mexico, for the Shotgun World Cup, comes the ides of March. The next Rifle/Pistol Word Cup is scheduled to be held in Beijing in end of April.