ISSF World Cup Baku 2023: India’s Rhythm Sangwan breaks world record but falls short of medal
The Indian shooter bettered a 29-year-old world record in the women’s 25m pistol qualifiers but finished eighth in the event.
Shooting
India shooter Rhythm Sangwan broke a 29-year-old world record in the women's 25m pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup 2023 for rifle and pistol shooters in Baku, Azerbaijan on Saturday.
The Indian shooter, however, failed to bag a medal and could only finish eighth in the finals.
Rhythm Sangwan registered a score of 595 in the qualification round to better the previous world record of 594, set by Bulgarian shooter Diana Iorgova in 1994.
Germany’s Doreen Vennekamp had equalled the record at the ISSF World Cup in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh back in March.
En route to the final, the 19-year-old Rhythm Sangwan also broke the junior women's 25m pistol qualification record of 593 set by Russia’s Nino Salukvadze in 1989.
Rhythm Sangwan topped the qualification round but could only finish last in the eight-women final with 10 points.
China’s Sixuan Feng clinched the gold medal with 38 points while Iran’s Haniyeh Rostamiyan bagged silver with 33 points. The bronze medal went to Doreen Vennekamp of Germany, who shot 30 points.
Back on Wednesday, Rhythm Sangwan had won her first individual senior shooting World Cup medal after clinching the bronze in the women’s 10m air pistol event.
Among the other Indian shooters competing in the women's 25m pistol event, Esha Singh (582) and Youth Olympic Games gold medallist Manu Bhaker (578) failed to progress beyond the qualification round after finishing 15th and 33rd, respectively. Niveditha Vellor and Abhidnya Ashok Patil were shooting for ranking points.
Meanwhile, the men's 50m rifle 3 positions (3P) event saw Indian shooters disappoint as none made it past the qualifying round. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar finished 12th with a score of 586 while Akhil Sheoran (585) and Swapnil Kusale (583) finished 15th and 26th, respectively. Pankaj Mukheja was shooting for ranking points.
India’s medals tally at the Baku stands at four. On Friday, Hriday Hazarika and Nancy Mandhotra bagged silver medals in the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle events, respectively, while Sarabjot Singh and Divya TS combined to win a gold medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event on Thursday.
The ongoing event in the capital of Azerbaijan 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 for the Baku meet.