ISSF World Cup Baku 2023: India’s Sarabjot Singh-Divya TS strike gold medal in 10m air pistol mixed team

Indian shooters Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS combined to win a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event at the ISSF World Cup 2023 for rifle and pistol shooters in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday.

Sarabjot Singh, who won an individual gold in men’s 10m air pistol event in Bhopal, and Divya TS defeated veteran Serbian pair of Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Damir Mikec and former world champion Zorana Arunovic 16-14 in a tense final. It was the first-ever ISSF World Cup medal for Divya TS.

Earlier, Sarabjot Singh scored 293 across three series in the qualification round while Divya TS managed 288 for a total score of 581. Damir Mikec and Zorana Arunovic also ended up getting the same score but finished second due to fewer 10s (19) compared to Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS (24).

Turkey's Simal Yilmaz and Ismail Keles won bronze after getting the better of the Italians Sara Costantino and Paolo Monna 17-9.

India’s Varun Tomar and Esha Singh struck a combined score of 578 to finish sixth and failed to qualify for the medal round. A total of 55 pairs competed in the qualification round. The top four go into the medal rounds.

The gold by Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS was the second medal for India at the ongoing ISSF World Cup. 

On Wednesday, Rhythm Sangwan clinched an individual bronze in 10m air pistol while Divya TS finished 18th in the qualification round. In the individual men’s 10m air pistol event, Sarabjot Singh had topped the qualification but finished fourth in the final. 

Meanwhile in the 10m air rifle mixed team event, reigning world champion in men’s 10m air rifle Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and Ramita, along with Hriday Hazarika and Tilottama Sen could not progress to the final. 

Hriday Hazarika and Tilottama Sen finished 17th with a combined score of 627.6 while Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil and Ramita came 28th with a total score of 626.3.

The 10m air rifle mixed team event final happened to be an all-Chinese affair. Yuting Huang and Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Lihao Sheng continued their good form to claim their second ISSF World Cup gold medal of the year as a team. They beat compatriots Zhilin Wang and Haoran Yang 16-14 in the final. 

The Baku meet is the penultimate stage of the ISSF World Cup for rifle and pistol shooters. The final stage will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before the ISSF World Championships in November at Doha.

India have sent a 34-member team to the ISSF World Cup Baku 2023. The event will end on May 14.