MUNICH: Sarabjot Singh opened India's account with a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol event at the ISSF World Cup here on Thursday, taking on a reigning world champion and four-time Olympian.
The 22-year-old Indian scored 242.7 in the eight-player final, trailing his nearest rival Bu Shuihang of China by 0.2 points.
Germany's Robin Walter won the bronze medal.
Sarabjot had qualified for the decider by scoring the highest score of 588 on Wednesday. Apart from Boo and Walter, the finalists included current world champion Bowen Zhang of China and four-time Olympian Yusuf Dikek of Turkey.In these circumstances, Sarabjot produced a spectacular victory for his second individual ISSF World Cup medal, after winning gold in Bhopal last year.
The young Indian produced his strongest performance, scoring three high 10s in his first five singles shots to take an early lead.
His shooting continued and he did not give up the lead until Walter caught him at the end of the 14th solo shot.
It looked like his clutch 10.8 for 15th had sealed the final as Walter lost with an 8.6. After Zhang was eliminated in the fifth, Walter upset Dikek for the bronze medal.In the final two shots, 1.4 separated Sarabjot from Boo, who was enjoying the chase as the pressure on Sarabjot was told.
In the end, Sarabjot, who had topped the selection trials for the Paris Olympics, performed well to secure a morale-boosting win.
Sarabjot had won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 in Changwon and secured the first pistol quota for India at the Paris Olympics.
Last year, at the Asian Games, Sarabjot had won a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol team event and a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
The 22-year-old Indian scored 242.7 in the eight-player final, trailing his nearest rival Bu Shuihang of China by 0.2 points.
Germany's Robin Walter won the bronze medal.
Sarabjot had qualified for the decider by scoring the highest score of 588 on Wednesday. Apart from Boo and Walter, the finalists included current world champion Bowen Zhang of China and four-time Olympian Yusuf Dikek of Turkey.In these circumstances, Sarabjot produced a spectacular victory for his second individual ISSF World Cup medal, after winning gold in Bhopal last year.
The young Indian produced his strongest performance, scoring three high 10s in his first five singles shots to take an early lead.
His shooting continued and he did not give up the lead until Walter caught him at the end of the 14th solo shot.
It looked like his clutch 10.8 for 15th had sealed the final as Walter lost with an 8.6. After Zhang was eliminated in the fifth, Walter upset Dikek for the bronze medal.In the final two shots, 1.4 separated Sarabjot from Boo, who was enjoying the chase as the pressure on Sarabjot was told.
In the end, Sarabjot, who had topped the selection trials for the Paris Olympics, performed well to secure a morale-boosting win.
Sarabjot had won a bronze medal in the 10m air pistol event at the Asian Shooting Championships 2023 in Changwon and secured the first pistol quota for India at the Paris Olympics.
Last year, at the Asian Games, Sarabjot had won a gold medal in the men's 10m air pistol team event and a silver medal in the 10m air pistol mixed team event.
