ISSF World Cup: Hriday Hazarika, Nancy Win 10m Air Rifle Silver Medals

Hriday Hazarika & Nancy led India to win silver medals in both the men’s and women’s 10m air rifle competitions at the ongoing ISSF World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Hriday Hazarika won the silver in the men’s event, while Nancy claimed the silver in the women’s event. 

Hriday, the former junior world champion, shot a brilliant final, but lost to Hungary’s Zalan Pekler who shot 252.4 to his 251.9. 

Nancy, on the other hand, recorded her lowest score of 10.2 in the final, but China’s Han Jiayu snatched the gold with a total of 254.0 points against Nancy’s 253.3.

Hriday and Nancy, both aged 20, qualified in seventh place for their respective events and put up an impressive show in the final. 

Hriday was among the top two shooters until the 20th shot when China’s Sheng Lihao pipped him to the second position. 

In the end, Hriday finished 0.5 points behind Pekler, who is in the form of his life, having won gold in the 10m air rifle in the previous World Cup stage in Lima last month. 

The other two Indian participants, Rudrankksh Patil and Shahu Tushar Mane, finished 19th and 23rd, respectively.

Nancy’s route to the silver medal was slightly tougher as she did not have a solid start in the final. She qualified seventh with a score of 631.6 in the qualification round. 

This was a power-packed final with the reigning Olympic Champion Nina Christen of Switzerland also participating. Nancy moved up the ranks to finish joint second with Chinese Huang Yuting after the 16th shot. 

She continued her excellent performance and confirmed her medal with a 10.8 for her 19th and a 10.7 for the 20th, but Han Jiayu’s final two shots of 10.7 and 10.6 helped her win the gold medal.

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With these two medals, India’s tally at the World Cup rose to one gold, two silver, and one bronze. China led the medal tally with two gold, one silver, and two bronze. The ongoing World Cup is an important event for the shooters as it serves as a build-up for the Tokyo Olympics.