The pair of Divya Subbaraju Thadigol and Sarabjot Singh claimed India’s first gold at the ISSF Shooting World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan on Thursday. The Indian duo clinched gold in the 10m air pistol mixed team competition, as they took down Serbia’s Zorana Arunovic and Damir Mikec by scoring 16 points, 2 points more than the Serbian duo. Turkey’s Simal Yilmaz and Ismail Keles secured the bronze medal, defeating the Italian duo of Sara Costantino and Paolo Monna 17-9.
The Indian pair had finished fifth in the two earlier World Cup stages in Cairo and Bhopal and secured a fine 581 to top the 55-team qualification, assuring a medal and a spot in the final round. With this, Sarabjot won his second ISSF World Cup gold in back-to-back tournaments, after winning the first in the individual air pistol in Bhopal in March, while Divya won her first medal at senior level. The Indian duo began the final with two identical 10.5s in the first series of individual shots and took a 2-0 lead. However, the two teams stood tied after 13 series at 14-14.
In the final series, Sarabjot fired 10.6, with Divya backing him with 9.9. Their competitor Damir shot a 10.3, whereas Zorana managed to shoot 8.6, and the Indian duo managed to clinch the victory. With this gold, the Indian team stands at number two with one gold and one bronze, with China leading the table with one gold and one silver. In the next three days of the tournament, India stands a chance to win six gold medals.
