Esha Singh and Saurabh Chaudhary win Mixed Team Pistol gold at Suhl Junior World Cup

Esha Singh and Saurabh Chaudhary (middle) with their 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team gold medals along with Palak and Sarabjot (left) with their silver medals atop the podium in Suhl. Germany on Thursday, May 12, 2022

Khel Today Bureau

New Delhi: India’s 10M Air Pistol Mixed Team combinations extended their dominance in the Pistol disciplines, as Esha Singh and Saurabh Chaudhary claimed gold and Palak and Sarabjot Singh silver at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Junior World Cup in Suhl, Germany, early on Thursday, day three of competitions. Esha and Saurabh prevailed 16-12 in the gold medal match.

Ramita and Paarth Makhija also won silver in the 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team competition, going down 13-17 to the Polish pair of Julia Piotrowska and Wiktor Sajdak, making it three on the day and a total of 10 medals so far, including four gold.

Ramita and Paarth Makhija (left) with their 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team silver medals along with other medalists atop the podium in Suhl, Germany on Thursday, May 12, 2022

Ramita and Paarth Makhija (left) with their 10M Air Rifle Mixed Team silver medals along with other medalists atop the podium in Suhl, Germany on Thursday.

The Indian Pistol pairs came through topping a 38-field qualification round of 60 shots with scores of 578 and 575 respectively. It was Palak and Sarabjot who had the better of Esha and Saurabh in this round, however the more experienced pair of Esha and Saurabh saw it through when it mattered most.

In the Junior Men’s Trap, three shooters, Arya Vansh Pathak, Vivaan Kapoor and Shardul Vihaan shot respectable scores of 118 (the first two names) and 117 each to finish ninth, 10th and 12th respectively. Shapath Bharadwaj finished 17th with a round of 115 while Bakhtyaruddin Malek shot 110 for a 32nd place finish.

Sabeera Haris had reached the top-eight final elimination stage in the Junior Women’s Trap however with a round of 115 in qualification and the Rifle trio of Paarth Makhija, Rudrankksh Patil and Umamahesh Maddinenni had also reached the gold medal round and were to face Spanish opponents in the Men’s 10M Air Rifle Team competitions as they entered the evening hours of day three.

France and Poland are the only other nations to have taken gold  medals off India so far.