Indian shooter Rhythm breaks 29-year-old world record, but misses out on a medal
Indian shooter Rhythm Sangwan broke a 29-year-old record in the qualification round of the women’s 25m pistol event at the ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol competition but failed to do well in the finals to finish eighth. Ridham shot 595 to top the 25m pistol qualification, breaking Bulgaria’s Diana Egorova’s record set in Milan in 1994. Meanwhile Egorova’s record was equaled twice. Doreen Wennekamp of Germany also equaled this record in the World Cup played in Bhopal in March this year.
Doren won the bronze medal here in Baku, while China’s Feng Sixuan won her second consecutive gold medal in the event at the World Cup after defeating Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamian in the final. Rith, who won a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol on Wednesday, was the first shooter to be eliminated in the final. Rhythm also broke a 34-year-old record in the junior category in the women’s 25m pistol event. The previous record was held by Nino Salukvadze of Russia who shot 593 at the European Championships in Zagreb.
India’s Manu Bhaker equaled this record in 2018 during the Asian Games in Jakarta. It was the first day in the tournament when India did not get a single medal. While Rhythm topped the list with a score of 595, two other Indian shooters Esha Singh and Manu finished 13th and 27th with scores of 582 and 578 respectively. Abhidanya Ashok Patil, playing for ranking points, shot 576. All three Indian shooters competing in the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions failed to qualify for the finals.
Aishwarya Pratap Singh Tomar finished 10th with 586, Akhil Sheoran 13th with 585 and Swapnil Kusale 22nd with 583. India’s Vijay Veer Sidhu shot 293 to finish among the top scorers after the first precision qualification round of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol.
