India’s Tokyo Olympian Elavenil Valarivan won the gold medal in the women’s 10m air rifle event at the ISSF World Cup Rio. In the final, the youngster never shot below 10.1 throughout the 24 shots, displaying her supreme form.
In the final, she finished with a score of 252.2 to beat France’s 20-year-old sensation Oceanne Muller, who won silver with 251.9. China’s Zhang Jiale bagged the bronze. Elavenil Valarivan had qualified for the final at the eighth and final spot with a score of 630.5.
Muller had topped with 633.7. Two Chinese shooters Zhang Jiale and Zhang Yu (Olympian) and reigning European champion Jeanette Hegg Duestad of Norway were also among the finalists.
But it was a disappointment for India in the men’s 10m air rifle event with Sandeep Singh finishing in the 14th spot with a qualification score of 628.2. On Friday, Elavenil had teamed up with Sandeep in the 10m air rifle mixed team event to finish fifth with a combined score of 629.1.
The fourth and final medal-round spot went to Israel, who were 0.5 points ahead of the Indian pair in the 42-team field. While Elavenil shot 314.8, Sandeep shot 314.3 as the Indians narrowly missed a shot at bronze.
Israel did win bronze eventually, while Germany won gold and the silver went to Hungary. A 16-member Indian team was taking part in the Rio World Cup in seven Olympic events. Italy leads the medal standings with two gold while India is joint third with Armenia.
Elavenil Valarivan missed out on Asian Games berth
The former world no. 1 Valarivan missed out on the Asian Games berth as a group of young shooters was preferred in the 10m rifle event. The likes of Mehuli Ghosh, Ramita Jindal, and Ashi Chouksey were picked instead. But once again, the 24-year-old has shown why she is India’s best best in the women’s rifle events.
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