NEW DELHI, Apr 5: Rahi Sarnobat scripted history today by becoming the first Indian pistol shooter to clinch a gold medal in the ISSF World Cup when she pipped local hope Kyeongae Kim 8-6 in the final of the 25m sports pistol event in Changwon, Korea.
Rahi joined the elite club of rifle shooters — Anjali Bhagwat, Gagan Narang, Sanjeev Rajput, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Ronjan Sodhi and Manavjit Singh Sandhu — who have won gold medals in the ISSF World Cups for India.
“It is a dream come true for me. I had been working hard with coach Anatoli Puddubny for the last few months at the Gun for Glory Academy and I am thankful to Lakshya and Vascon for the support they are providing me in this respect,” said Rahi, who had earlier won a bronze medal in the 2011 ISSF World Cup in USA.
The Indian markswoman, who had qualified for the semifinal stage in fourth position with a total score of 585, sealed her final berth as the second best semi-finalist with 15 points.
Kim topped the standings with 16 after the five series.
According to the new competition rules, top eight players from the preliminaries qualify for the semifinals where points are given according to the number of inner 10s scored by a shooter in each series of five shots.
The top two shooters then qualify for the final, while the third and fourth-placed shooters face each other in the Bronze medal play-off. (PTI)
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