India's ISSF World Cup Campaign Ends with Gold as Sonam Takes 5th

Granada, Spain – Sonam Uttam Maskar's gritty fight in the women's 10m air rifle final came to a close at fifth place, wrapping up India's ISSF World Cup Rifle/Pistol stint with one shining gold medal. The event highlighted emerging talents battling global giants. After 18 shots in the high-stakes final, Sonam bowed out with 188.5 points, trailing leaders by a mere 0.8. China's Wang Jifei, the top-ranked shooter, sealed gold at 252.9. Silver went to Norway's Janet Hegg Dustaad (252.4), and bronze to China's Han Jiayu (231.5). This opening World Cup of the season saw India deploy its mid-tier domestic shooters. Despite seven finalists, only Mukesh Nelavalli and Palak's mixed air pistol gold lit up the scoreboard on day one. China topped the medals with 13, including eight golds, leaving India in third. Qualification saw Sonam top Indians at 632.8 (7th). Mehwuli Ghosh followed at 627.3 (44th), Shrutii at 624.8 (63rd). RPO participants Narmada Nitin Raju (629.0) and Rajshree Sancheti (628.1) showed promise. Sonam's final started strong at 10.6, dipped to 9.8, but she survived three elimination threats, peaking with a 10.9 in round 14. Chasing a second personal World Cup medal, her final 10.5 wasn't enough to bridge the gap. In the morning's men's 50m rifle 3P quals, Neeraj Kumar's 589 earned 15th, Akhil Sheoran's 588 got 22nd, and Chain Singh exited early. As India reflects on a solid third-place finish, the single gold signals growing prowess ahead of major events like the Olympics.