Ganemat Sekhon sets national record at ISSF World Cup Shotgun Lonato 2023

Lonato [Italy], July 13 : Indian shooter Ganemat Sekhon scored 120 in the women’s skeet qualifying round of the ISSF World Cup Shotgun Lonato 2023 to claim a new national record on Wednesday. 

Even though she claimed a national record, Ganemat failed to win a medal along with all six Indian skeet shooters at the Trap Concaverde Shooting Range in Italy. 

Ganemat, who won a silver medal in the women’s individual skeet events at the ISSF World Cup in Almaty in May, shot a perfect round of 25 but missed out on a place in the six-woman final as she finished in seventh position. 

The Indian shooter had two rounds of 23 in the previous two days which contributed to her early exit at the Paris 2024 Olympics qualifying event. 

Dania Jo Vizzi of the USA claimed the sixth and final spot with a score of 121 in the qualifying round and she went on to win the gold medal by defeating her compatriot Samantha Simonton 54-50 in the final. China’s Jiang Yiting ended up with the bronze medal. 

The other two Indians in the women’s skeet field, Maheshwari Chauhan and Darshna Rathore shot 114 and 104 to finish 32nd and 58th, respectively. 

In the men’s skeet, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka shot 119 for 48th place. Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Jesper Hensen of Denmark topped the field with a perfect shot of 125. 

Reigning world champion Azmy Mehelba of Egypt and reigning Olympic champion Vincent Hancock of the USA, who took out Rio 2016 champion Gabrielle Rossetti of Italy in a shoot-off, also made the finals with scores of 123. 

India’s Gurjoat Khangura and two-time Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan shot scores of 116 and 112 to end in the 69th and 96th positions, respectively. 

India's pair of Ganemat Sekhon-Anant Jeet Singh Naruka and Gurjoat Khangura-Darshna will be in action in the mixed skeet event on Thursday.