Sakshi Padekar Secures Seventh Place in Women's 10m Air Rifle Final at ISSF World Cup
Sakshi Padekar's Performance at ISSF World Cup
Munich [Germany], May 28: Sakshi Sunil Padekar achieved a commendable seventh place in the women's 10m Air Rifle final during the third day of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol, held at the renowned Olympiaschiessanlage in Munich.
The 22-year-old shooter from Maharashtra qualified for the finals in third position, scoring an impressive 635.1, trailing only behind World No. 1 Wang Zifei from China and South Korea's Olympic champion Hyojin Ban.
In a thrilling final, 18-year-old Andelija Stevanovic from Serbia, competing in her first senior World Cup, clinched the gold medal with a score of 252.3, determined by the last shot. Japan's Nobata Misaki earned her first senior World Cup medal, taking silver with a score of 252.0, while Wang Zifei secured bronze with 231.1 points, and Ban finished fourth.
Sakshi started the final strong with a 10.5, but after scoring 9.7 and 9.8 in her second and third shots, she responded with 10.8 and 10.7, concluding the first series with a total of 51.5, placing her in sixth. In the second series, she maintained her position with scores of 10.6, 10.4, 10.6, 10.0, and 10.5, totaling 52.1.
During the single shots, Sakshi hit two 10.3s to hold her sixth position, and later scored two 10.5s in her 13th shot, gaining a slight lead over Oceanne Mueller, who was in seventh. However, Mueller's impressive 10.9 in the 14th shot led to a shoot-off, where Sakshi managed a 10.5, finishing with a total score of 145.2, while Mueller scored 10.7 to secure seventh place.
Earlier in the competition, fellow Indian shooters Elavenil Valarivan and Arya Borse finished in 19th and 63rd places, scoring 632.1 and 627.6 respectively, amidst a competitive field of 146 shooters, where the top 12 all scored above 633.0.
Vidarsa K. Vinod and Tilottama Sen, competing for ranking points, placed 27th and 32nd with scores of 630.6 and 630.1.
In the 25m Rapid Fire Pistol event, Olympian Anish Bhanwala ended Stage 1 with a score of 290-10x, placing 18th and keeping his hopes alive for a top-eight finish. Suraj Sharma and Udhayveer Sidhu, both making their senior debuts, scored 284-11x and 288-14x respectively, facing challenges to qualify for the finals.
Tomorrow marks the penultimate day of competitions in Munich, featuring three finals: the 10m Air Pistol Women, 50m Rifle 3 Positions Men, and 25m Rapid Fire Pistol.