CHENNAI: Chain Singh used his years of experience to help India open its medal account in the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Argentina. Up against seven shooters including fellow Indians — Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar and Niraj Kumar, the 35-year-old was slow off the mark during the men's 50m rifle 3 positions final at the Tiro Federal Argentino de Buenos Aires Shooting Range in Buenos Aires but he gradually found his range before pipping Aishwary at the vital stage of the competition to earn himself a final spot at the podium.
Istvan Peni, considered to be one of the best in the business, captured the top prize while China's Jaiming Tian won the silver medal. Singh, who was part of the 2016 Rio Olympics, initially struggled during the kneeling stage while Aishwary seemed a more likely shooter to finish on the podium. Niraj, meanwhile, never seemed to find his range and eventually finished seventh.
Singh finished with a tally of 443.7 while Aishwary, who was part of the last two Olympic Games in Tokyo and Paris, returned with some disastrous scores towards the business end of the final. Chain seized the window of opportunity to move ahead before retaining his calm to nick the bronze medal.
This is an impressive start for the rifle shooters with all three Indians making the finals. In the qualification stage, Aishwary had finished second with a tally of 589 (31 inner 10s). Chain had matched Aishwary's tally but had lesser inner 10 hits to be placed third while Niraj had returned with an effort of 587 (36 inner 10s) to finish as sixth-best qualifier. The top-eight shooters are guaranteed a spot in the finals.
Manu & Co show promise
Manu Bhaker was placed fourth after the precision stage of the women's 25m pistol qualification with a score of 291 (7 inner 10s). Simranpreet Kaur Brar was also within range to challenge for final qualification as she was placed sixth with an effort of 290 (9 inner 10s). The duo will return on Saturday for the rapid fire stage. If they finish within top-six, they'll qualify for the finals which is scheduled to be held on the same day. The skeet finals will also be conducted on Saturday. Dhillon Raiza, who was placed seventh after three rounds of qualification, and Ganemat Sekhon will be hoping to leave a notable impression.