New Delhi, April 5 (HS): Senior shooter and Asian Games medalist Chain Singh has won the first medal for India at the ongoing International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Chain Singh secured a bronze medal in the men’s 50-meter rifle three position event on Friday.

Hungary's Istvan Peni won the gold medal with a score of 461.0 points, while China’s Tian Jiamming earned the silver medal with 458.8 points. Chain Singh was eliminated after the second-to-last shot in the final with a score of 443.7 points, but by then he had already secured a medal for India. This is his first medal in an ISSF competition after three years.

Qualification Round

From India, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Neeraj Kumar, and Chain Singh all qualified for the final. They were joined by heavyweight competitors like current world champion Alexander Schmirl from Austria.

Aishwary qualified in second place with a score of 589 points, while Chain, despite having the same score, was placed third based on accuracy. Neeraj achieved fifth place with a score of 587 points.

Final Round

At the start of the final, Neeraj Kumar performed excellently in the kneeling position and was in second place, but his performance weakened afterwards. Meanwhile, Aishwary and Chain improved their scores.

After the prone position, they moved to third and fourth place and maintained a strong position in the final standings. However, Aishwary had to forfeit his medal due to a score of 7.8 on the 41st shot. Schmirl was eliminated after being in fifth place following the 42nd shot, and with this, Chain Singh secured a medal for India.

Other Results

In the women’s 25-meter pistol qualification precision round on the first day, Manu Bhaker scored 291 out of 300 and finished in fourth place. Simranpreet Kaur Barad scored 290 to secure sixth place, while Esha Singh scored 285 and ended up in twelfth place.

In the skeet competition on the second day, Paris Olympian Raiza Dhillon achieved the best score for India, scoring 71 in three rounds and finishing in seventh place, just two points behind the top position.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar