ISSF World Cup: Rhythm Sangwan misses bronze, Indian rifle men fail to enter final

PUNE: It was a no-podium day for Indians at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo as both, pistol and rifle shooters failed to show their best on Monday.Barring Rhythm Sangwan, who finished fourth in women’s 25m sports pistol final, other five Indians couldn’t even enter the finals of their respective categories.Rhythm, the Paris Games participant, missed the bronze by two hits in the final that was won by Singapore’s Xiu Yi Teh. The silver and bronze were won by France's Heloise Fourre and Bulgaria's Miroslava Mincheva, respectively. Rhythm, 22, scored 26 in the final and was in medal contention till the seventh series.She looked good to seal the bronze, at least, but in the eighth series, the Haryana shooter missed four out of five shots, while Miroslava, who was a point behind Rhythm, went two points ahead to push the Indian for elimination.Earlier, Rhythm qualified for the final on top, by scoring 587 in the qualifier. In 2023, the Indian had broken the 29-year-old record in the event by scoring 595 at the World Cup in Baku. The previous record was held by Bulgarian shooter Diana Iorgova, who had shot 594 in Milan World Cup in May 1994. However, the Indian went out of form after a dismal show in the Paris Olympics.“It was a good match. I am happy about the way I shot in the qualification round and then in the final. I just had one bad series and that happened to be the last one. Unfortunately, I couldn’t win the medal, but I am satisfied with the way I shot,” Rhythm, who has played in only two international tournaments since Paris, told TOI.“I think such days give you confidence for the future,” she added.Other Indians in fray, Divya TS (582) and Chinki Yadav (580), finished 10th and 16th, respectively.In the men’s 10m air rifle event, Paris Games fourth-place finisher, Arjun Babuta failed to enter the final after finishing 16th with a score of 630. Other Indians, Dhanush Srikanth (629.4) and Paarth Makhija (629.3) were placed 21st and 22nd, respectively.