Shooting World Cup, Lonato: Bhavtegh, Mairaj in final contention; Ganemat also in the mix

Bhavtegh Singh Gill fired two flawless rounds of 25 to bring himself into finals contention alongside senior pro Mairaj Ahmad Khan, as both finished with identical scores of 98 after four qualifying rounds in the men’s skeet competition at the ISSF World Cup (Shotgun) here.

In the women’s skeet event, Ganemat Sekhon also remained firmly in the race, carding two consistent rounds of 24 each to take her tally to 96 — good enough for provisional eighth place.

Ganemat, who began her qualifying rounds at the Trap Concaverde on Monday in 10th spot overnight, missed just one target in each of Tuesday’s two rounds to move up the leaderboard. However, she now finds herself in a tight contest, tied on 96 with five other shooters, including Sweden’s Victoria Larsson, who currently holds the sixth and final qualifying position.

Meanwhile, Olympians Maheshwari Chauhan and Raiza Dhillon returned rounds of 22 and 25, and 24 and 24, respectively, to finish the day in 27th and 28th positions. Maheshwari matched Ganemat’s total of 96, while Raiza ended on 93.

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USA’s Dania Jo Vizzi leads the women’s skeet field with a score of 98.

In the men’s skeet event, Bhavtegh was flawless in three of his four rounds, each scoring 25, and currently holds the 12th spot provisionally. Olympian Mairaj Ahmad Khan (24, 25, 24, 25) produced a similar performance from day one to occupy 15th position in a field of 176 shooters.

So far, four shooters have registered perfect scores of 100, while six others have dropped just one target. Bhavtegh and Mairaj are part of a tightly packed group of 16 shooters on 98, and with only six final spots up for grabs, the battle on Tuesday promises to be intense.

Paris Olympian Anant Jeet Singh Naruka (24, 24, 24, 23), meanwhile, appears to be slipping out of contention with a current tally of 95.

The final qualifying round will be held on Tuesday, followed by both the men’s and women’s finals.