India’s Bhavesh Shekhawat delivered a composed performance on day four of the ISSF World Cup for rifle/pistol, finishing fourth in the first stage of the men’s 25m rapid fire pistol qualification, keeping himself in contention for a spot in the finals.
Bhavesh scored 293-9x across three series (97, 99, 97), placing him third overnight behind Germany’s Emanuel Mueller (295-12x) and France’s Clement Bessaguet (294-11x). Fellow Indians Pradeep Singh Shekhawat and Mandeep Singh finished 24th and 43rd respectively, falling out of contention.
In the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions, India’s challenge faltered as Mehuli Ghosh, Manini Kaushik, and Surabhi Bhardwaj Rapole failed to qualify for the finals. Mehuli, who had previously won bronze at the 2023 Baku World Championship, finished 23rd with a total of 583-23x, while Manini placed 45th and Surabhi 52nd.
World No.1 Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway clinched her second gold of the competition with a score of 466.2, followed by Denmark’s Rikki Maeng Ibsen and Czechia’s Barbora Dubska.
India is yet to open its medal tally at the event, with upcoming hopes resting on Rhythm Sangwan, Esha Singh, and Surabhi Rao in the women’s 10m air pistol qualification, which features top global contenders including China’s Qianxun Yao and France’s Camille Jedrzejewski.
