Shooter Suruchi delivers golden hat-trick in Munich World Cup

National champion Suruchi delivered an unprecedented golden hat-trick, winning the women’s 10m air pistol event at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup (Rifle/Pistol) in Munich, also giving India their first gold of the competition in the process.

The teenager shot 241.9 in the eight-woman final, to leave France’s Paris Olympic silver medalist Camille Jedrzejewski 0.2 behind in silver. Yao Qianxuan of China won bronze.

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Suruchi had earlier won the event in the year’s first two World Cup stages in Buenos Aires and Lima as well. Buenos Aires was in-fact her world cup debut and she has now won gold in all three of her first ISSF World Cup stages.

Extending a run of form which extends back to the Nationals in December, the Haryana girl shot 588 in qualification to equal the national record held by Manu Bhaker. Yao topped the 110 field with a junior world record score of 589.

Come the final, a series of 52.1 to begin with set her on course, but by the end of the second five-shot series she was down to second. A 9.7 for her 11th brought her down to fourth and that seemed to have spurred her on.

A cracking 10.8 gave her the lead back after the 12th and thereafter it was a battle of attrition. Camille and Yao were the prime chasers and the Frenchwoman took advantage of a few 9s by the Indian to go into the lead after the 18th shot.

Then Yao shot a 9.4 for her 22nd shot and the Indian took second spot behind Camille, going into the final two shots 0.5 behind. That became 0.5 ahead after the 23rd where she fired a 10.5 to Camille’s 9.5 and despite both shooters finishing with 9s, Suruchi held on to win.

Meanwhile, Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker missed out to make the final after finishing 21st while another Indian in the fray, Palak, finished 30th in the same event.

Earlier, Olympian Elavenil Valarivan opened India’s medal count by winning bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle before Sift Kaur Samra added yet another accolade to her growing list of international achievements, securing a bronze medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event.