India's Skeet Shooters Stay in Hunt as Bhavtegh, Mairaj Shine Despite Tough World Cup Field

India's bid for its first ISSF Shotgun World Cup medal of the season remains alive after Bhavtegh Singh Gill and Mairaj Ahmad produced impressive performances on the opening day of the men's skeet competition in Lonato, Italy . However, the remarkable depth of the field meant that even a score of 49 out of 50 was only enough to place the Indian duo in joint 14th after two qualification rounds.

Both shooters missed just one target, but with 173 competitors in the fray, the battle for a place in the final has become extremely competitive. A remarkable 13 shooters finished the day with a perfect 50 out of 50 , highlighting the razor thin margins separating the contenders.

Among the leaders was former India shooter Angad Vir Singh Bajwa , who now represents Canada after previously competing for India at the Tokyo Olympics and Jakarta Asian Games . Also sharing the lead was four time Olympic champion Vincent Hancock , underlining the quality of the competition.

India's third entrant, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka , endured a difficult start. His score of 47 left him tied for 69th place , making his path to the final considerably tougher with three qualification rounds still remaining.

The women's skeet event brought encouraging signs through Parinaaz Dhaliwal , who shot 47 out of 50 to finish joint 11th , staying firmly in contention for a top eight finish. France's Noemie Battault led the standings with a flawless 50 .

Olympian Maheshwari Chauhan ended the day on 46 , placing her joint 23rd , while fellow Olympian Raiza Dhillon scored 45 to be joint 38th , leaving both with work to do in the remaining rounds.

Qualification continues on Monday and Tuesday , after which the top eight shooters will advance to the finals. With India still searching for its first shotgun World Cup medal after blank outings in Tangier and Almaty , a strong finish in Lonato would provide a timely boost ahead of the Aichi Nagoya Asian Games later this year.