ISSF World Cup: Simranpreet Kaur wins silver in women's 25m pistol

New Delhi, April 21 (IANS) Simranpreet Kaur Brar, won a first ever senior international medal for India, bagging a splendid silver in the women’s 25m pistol competition at the Las Palmas shooting range in Lima, Peru, on the concluding day of the second leg of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup circuit.

The Indian shooter shot a total of 33-hits in the 10-series of five rapid-fire shots final, finishing one hit behind China’s Sun Yujie, who won back-to-back world cup golds in the event. A second Chinese, Yao Qianxun won bronze with 29-hits to her name.

Earlier in the day, the trio of double Olympic medalist Manu Bhaker, mixed team pistol world champion Esha Singh and Simranpreet, ensured all three Indians made the finals.

Manu was second in qualifying with a solid 585 while Simranpreet was fifth with 580. Esha Singh, who had won silver in the event in the previous Argentina World Cup, shot 575 to take the eighth and final qualifying spot.

The three Chinese contenders also made the finals as did German ace Doreen Vennekamp and multiple times continental champion Andrea Perez Pena.

The Chinese burst off the blocks going 1-2-3 after the first series, as the Indians warmed up to the task from the second. Simran shot a four in the second, Esha a five in the third and after the sixth series which saw both Manu and Simranpreet nail fives to Esha’s four, the first shoot-off to separate Manu, Esha and Doreen came about.

Esha could not survive it and Manu then won another shoot-off after the next series to condemn Doreen to fifth place. By now Simranpreet on 23-hits had found herself sandwiched between Sun with 25-hits and Yao with 22.

Manu’s luck ran out in the next series as the one-point difference between the top three remained constant till the end of the match.

This was India’s fourth silver of the competition to go with two golds and a bronze.

--IANS

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