Indian men miss 10m air pistol final

India’s men’s air pistol shooters endured another disappointing day at the ISSF World Cup, failing to make the finals as hosts China stamped their authority with a gold-silver finish on Wednesday.

Samrat Rana, a former junior world champion in team events, was India’s best performer but could manage only 10th place in the men’s 10m air pistol qualification with a score of 582, well short of the cut. Teammates Amit Sharma and Nishant Rawat finished far behind, placed 28th (576) and 42nd (568) respectively.

China’s Hu Kai topped qualification with 589 and went on to claim gold with 242.3, while compatriot You Changjie secured silver with 241.5. With this, China’s medal tally in the rifle/pistol events rose to four, including two golds. India, meanwhile, remain without a podium finish so far.

There was some cheer in the women’s 25m pistol, where Divya Subbaraju impressed in the precision stage, scoring 291 (97, 94, 100) to secure seventh spot among 37 shooters. She remains in contention for a finals berth after Thursday’s rapid stage. However, Abhidnya Patil (19th, 288) and Rahi Sarnobat (26th, 286) face an uphill task.