Argentina Shooting World Cup: Varun finishes fifth, Ravinder sixth, in men’s air pistol

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) Two Indians made the first final of the season-opening International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but both Varun Tomar and Ravinder Singh finished outside the medals in the men’s 10m air pistol, as Day One of competitions concluded at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires shooting range on Thursday.

The duo qualified in seventh and eighth positions with identical scores of 580, Ravinder a spot ahead on more shots in the inner-10 ring.

However, both, especially Ravinder, after being in medal contention in the initial stages of the eight-man 24-shot final, bowed out after the 16th and 18th shots, respectively. Saurabh Chaudhary, the third Indian fighting for medals, finished 16th in qualification with a score of 577.

Skeet competitions also got underway on the day with the first two rounds of qualifying comprising 25 targets each, on the detail. India’s Raiza Dhillon in the women’s skeet got off to a perfect 25/25 start and was leading the field.

Two finals on Friday

Friday has two finals on schedule, with both the men’s and women’s 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) medals set to be decided. India has three entrants in both events, according to a release issued by the National Rifle Association of India (NRAI).

While Olympian Chain Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, and Niraj Kumar will take aim for the country in the men’s 3P, Olympians Sift Kaur Samra and Shriyanak Sadangi as well as Ashi Chouksey will carry India’s hopes in the women’s event.

Manu Bhaker, Simranpreet Kaur Brar, and Esha Singh also compete in the first precision qualification stage of the women’s 25m pistol event.

Over 400 shooters, including a galaxy of reigning and former Olympic and World champions from as many as 45 countries, will be competing for 15 gold medals on offer, looking to begin the year on a high. This includes a block of 23 athletes who will be participating as Individual Neutral Athletes (AIN). The ISSF World Cup stages, after the Olympics and the World Championships, are the highest level of competition in the sport.