Simranpreet Kaur Brar Clinches Gold at ISSF World Cup Final
Simranpreet Shines in Women's 25m Pistol Event
In a remarkable display of skill, young shooter Simranpreet Kaur Brar triumphed over a competitive field to secure the gold medal in the women's 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Final on Sunday. Meanwhile, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar made a notable debut in the men's 50m rifle 3-position category, earning a silver medal.
Anish Bhanwala, a silver medalist at the World Championships in the 25m rapid-fire pistol, also concluded the year on a high note with another second-place finish, contributing to India's impressive medal tally of six, which includes two golds, three silvers, and one bronze.
India maintained its second position in the overall medal standings, trailing behind China, which has secured three golds, two silvers, and three bronzes.
Simranpreet, whose father sacrificed his government job to support her shooting career, achieved a personal best by scoring 41 in the final, matching the World junior record.
Esha Singh, the other Indian finalist, finished in seventh place. Notably, double Olympic bronze medalist Manu Bhaker did not qualify for the final, ending up ninth in the qualification round with a score of 581.
During the qualification, 21-year-old Simranpreet, who previously won silver at the World Cup in Lima earlier this year, scored 585, while Esha also shot 585, finishing fifth and fourth, respectively, to advance to the final.
Simranpreet started the final slowly, missing three targets in her first series of five shots, placing her in eighth position. However, she quickly regained her composure, firing three perfect 5s to surge ahead of China's top shooter and reigning 10m air pistol world champion Yao Qianxun, who finished second with 36 points, while Germany's former world champion Doreen Vennekamp secured the bronze.
Aishwary's Performance in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions
In the men's 50m rifle 3-positions event, Aishwary finished just 0.9 points behind Czechia's Jiri Privratsky, who scored 414.2 in the final, which followed the new ISSF format of 40 shots. Olympic champion Liu Yukun took home the bronze medal.
Aishwary, a double Olympian and former junior world champion, recently won a silver medal at the World Championship last month. He scored 595 in the qualification round, placing second behind China's Tian Jiaming, who set a world record with a score of 598.
The final saw Aishwary initially in fourth place with a score of 102.8 after the first kneeling position. However, he found his rhythm in the prone position, climbing to second place with strong series scores of 52.9 and 52.
Privratsky was leading by 3.3 points at one stage, while Liu was in third place with 20 standing shots remaining. Aishwary managed to close the gap to 1.5 points after outshooting Privratsky in the next 10 shots.
As the competition progressed, Aishwary took the lead after the 33rd shot, but Privratsky regained his advantage with high scores, ultimately securing gold with a decisive performance in the final shots.
Anish Bhanwala's Determined Effort
Anish showcased his resilience in the 25m rapid-fire pistol event, battling through a tense shoot-off against reigning world champion Clement Bessaguet of France to stay in the gold medal race. However, the Paris Olympic champion Li Yuehong from China proved too strong, clinching gold with a score of 33 points, while Bhanwala secured silver with 31 points. Olympian Vijayveer Sidhu finished fourth, just behind Bessaguet.