ISSF World Cup Changwon: Aishwary stars in strong Indian performances on no-finals day

New Delhi, July 15 India continued their purple patch at the ongoing ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun stage in Changwon, Korea on Friday as two shooters reached the ranking round while at least one other looked poised to qualify for the two finals, scheduled on Saturday, day seven of competitions.

Senior Rifle shooter Chain Singh qualified for a World Cup top eight after a gap but the star of the day was young Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar as he topped the Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions (3P) qualifiers with a score of 593 out of 600. He shot perfect rounds in the first two Kneeling and Prone positions and lost all of his seven points in the final Standing position.

Army marksman Chain Singh claimed the seventh position in the Men's 3P qualifiers with a solid 586. However, Sanjeev Rajput missed the cut for the next round after finishing 40th with a 577.

The other good performance came from another one of India's young Olymp Manu Bhaker, who shot 288 in the Women's 25m Pistol to finish seventh in the precision round. The rapid-fire round of the event is scheduled on Saturday before the final rounds.

India's Rhythm Sangwan shot 285 to lie 18th in the precision round. Former Olympic and world champion Anna Korakaki of Greece leads the field with a 295.

India currently tops the medals table at the Changwon meet with eight medals, three gold, four silver and one bronze. Hosts South Korea is second with four, three gold medals and a solitary silver.