India’s shooting contingent faced another disappointing day at the ISSF World Cup on Friday, with World Championship bronze-medallist Mehuli Ghosh and veteran rifle shooter Manini Kaushi failing to advance in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event.
Mehuli Ghosh fails at ISSF World Cup
Mehuli Ghosh, who secured a Paris Olympic quota but missed the Games after losing in national trials, finished 23rd with a qualification score of 583. Her performance was marked by inconsistency across the three shooting positions, despite showing flashes of her championship form.
The 2023 Baku World Championship bronze medallist started promisingly in the kneeling position with 98 points but dropped to 96 in her second series for a 194 aggregate. She demonstrated her resilience in the prone position, shooting impressive scores of 99 and 97 for a 196 total. However, the standing position proved challenging, where she managed only 95 points initially before recovering with 98, totaling 193 in that segment.
Manini Kaushi fared worse, finishing 45th with 580 points, while India’s third competitor, Surabhi Bharadwaj, concluded 52nd with 578 points in the 66-shooter field.
Norway’s Jeanette Hegg Duestad dominated the qualification round with 589 points before capturing gold with a final score of 466.2. The 300m rifle specialist outperformed Denmark’s Rikke Maeng Ibsen (463.3) and Czech Republic’s Barbora Dubska (451.4), who claimed silver and bronze respectively.
Indian Shooters in soup
This latest setback extends India’s medal drought at the competition, leaving the nation without representation on the podium. China leads the medal standings with two gold, three silver, and one bronze, followed by Norway with two golds and South Korea with one gold, one silver, and one bronze.
In men’s 25m rapid fire pistol, India showed marginally better prospects with Bhavesh Shekhawat positioned fourth after Stage 1 qualification, recording 293 points. Pradeep Singh Shekhawat placed 24th with 288, while Mandeep Singh struggled at 43rd position with 272 points among 44 competitors.
The Stage 2 qualification rounds are scheduled for Saturday, offering India another opportunity to break into medal contention.
