Pistol shooters competing in RPO (Ranking Points Only) were able to perform better in the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou than those competing for the medal round.
India’s leading pistol shooter Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve wasn’t successful in making the cut in the medal round in the men’s 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup in Hangzhou, China. He was among three Indian pistol shooters in the qualification round who weren’t able to deliver on the given day in a world class field.
Kedarling Balakrishna Uchaganve finished a disappointing 27th with a 579 of 600 in the qualification round. Top eight shooters make it to the final (medal round). Aakash Bhardwaj 24th (580) and Kamaljeet 25th (580) were the other two Indian shooters who were in contention for the final.
Interestingly, India’s Jaypal Malviya competing in RPO (Ranking Points Only) shot 585 to finish fourth in the field. World Champion Samrat Rana, competing in the RPO category finished 20th with a score of 580. Performance of Rana and Malviya suggests Indian pistol shooters are able to perform better when not under pressure.
China’s eventual winner Shuaihang Bu shot an impressive 590/600 to top the qualification round.
In an exciting final, Shuaihang Bu demonstrated he was able to withstand intense pressure when it mattered the most. The Chinese shooter shot 244.4 points to secure the gold medal in front of the home crowd.
Suhyeon Hong of the Republic of Korea claimed the silver medal with 240.1. The bronze medal went to Vladimir Svechnikov of Uzbekistan with 217.6 points.
EOM
