World University Games: Shooters, archers help India win six medals

[Representational Photo : iStock]


Rifle shooter Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, men’s 10m air rifle team, compound archers Avneet Kaur and Sangampreet Singh Bisla clinched gold medals as India won total of six medals at FISU World University Games in Chengdu, China, on Monday.
 Apart from four gold medals, India won a silver in individual 10m air rifle through Divyansh Singh Panwar and a bronze in men’s Individual compound archery through Aman Saini.
With six medals India’s tally at  World University Games rose to 17 – nine gold, three silver and five bronze. India is fourth on the medals table behind China, Japan and Korea.
Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, who also won a gold medal in the 50m rifle 3 positions on Sunday, scored a total of 252.6 in the 10m air rifle final to beat compatriot and fellow Tokyo Olympian Divyansh Singh Panwar. Divyansh Singh Panwar secured a silver, scoring 251 points. Buhan Song of China scored 229 to win bronze.
Arjun Babuta, who came second in the qualifying round to make the cut for the eight-man final, finished eighth with a score of 124.4 after a poor start.
The Indian trio, however, combined for the gold medal in the men’s 10m air rifle team event with a combined score of 1894.7 points. China settled for silver with a score of 1881.9, while Kazakhstan claimed bronze with 1878.2 points.
The other three medals – two gold and one bronze – for India came through compound archers. Sangampreet Bisla and Avneet Kaur showed composure to top the podium in their respective individual events.
Sangampreet missed a 10 just once across five sets to beat South Africa’s Christian De Klerk for gold in the men’s compound event. The Indian  scored 149 from a possible 150 while Christian De Klerk managed 147. Aman Saini beat French archer Bouleau Victor 148-146 for bronze.
 Aman Saini had won a gold and a bronze in compound men’s team and compound mixed team, respectively, on Sunday.
In the women’s compound individual event, Avneet Kaur fended off a tough challenge from USA’s Alyssa Grace Sturgill in a shoot-off to win the gold. The scores were tied at 144-144 after five sets. However, Sturgill shot an eight before Avneet Kaur wrapped up the contest with a 10.