ISSF Munich World Cup: Sift wins bronze in women’s 50m rifle 3P event

Indian shooter Sift Kaur Samra claimed bronze in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions event after narrowly missing the silver on the final day of the ISSF World Cup (Rifle/Pistol), here on Friday.

India ended the competition with two medals.

Sarabjot Singh had won gold in the men’s 10m air pistol on Thursday.

Sift shot 452.9 and missed silver by an agonising 0.1 to China’s Han Jiayu, the reigning air rifle women’s world champion.

The world number one Seonaid Mcintosh of Great Britain won the gold with a score of 466.7.

A fault in Danish Olympian Ibsen Rekke Maeng’s electronic target system resulted in a slight delay in finishing the kneeling position of the women’s 3P final. While Seonaid had already taken a good lead at the end of it, Sift was down at seventh.

As the Briton powered ahead after the second prone position, in front by almost three from second-placed Chinese Zhang Qiongyue at that stage, Sift clawed up to fifth with an above average round.

A brilliant second five-shot series in the last standing position brought her up to joint bronze medal position with China’s Han Jiayu, the reigning world champion in women’s 10m air rifle.

Sift was now in her elements and after the 43rd shot of the 45-shot final. She had climbed up to second, but eventually had to settle for bronze by the narrowest of margins.

In the men’s 3P final, which comprised two-time Olympian Milutin Stefanovic, top rifle shooter Istvan Peni of Hungary, world-record holder Yukun Liu of China, the in-form Jiri Privratsky of the Czechia and world championship bronze medallist Jon-Hermann Hegg of Norway, India’s Aishwary Tomar never really recovered from a slow start and was eliminated in eighth place with a score of 408.9 after 40 shots.

The gold was won by Norwegian Ole Martin Halvorsen (464.3), who beat Peni by 0.2 in an up-and-down final. Hegg took bronze with 449.9.