Rizvi opens India’s account at Worlds
Changwon, April 24: World record holder Shahzar Rizvi on Tuesday claimed India’s first medal at the ongoing ISSF World Cup, winning the 10m air pistol silver, while the Commonwealth Games’ medal-winning duo of Jitu Rai and Om Prakash Mitharwal could not even qualify for the final.
Rizvi took the silver in the 10m air pistol event on day three of the year’s second World Cup (rifle/pistol/shotgun stage). He missed the gold by 0.2 points to Russia’s Artem Chernousov. Samuil Donkov of Bulgaria won the bronze.
“Happy Bday to legend & inspiration to every sport person @sachin_rt (Sachin Tendulkar) sir. And what a day I myself have won Silver Medal in #ISSFWC changwon (KOR),” Rizvi tweeted.
In the 24-shot final, Rizvi was 0.2 adrift of the Russian before the final shot. Both delivered scores of 10.0 to ensure that the order remained intact.
Artem finished with a score of 240.0 and Rizvi shot 239.8. Donkov was eliminated in bronze medal position after the 22nd shot on a score of 217.1.
The men’s 10m air pistol saw many a big names fall by the wayside in the 87strong qualification field.
Rizvi shot 582 out of 600 to make it to the eightman final in sixth place. However, Rai and Mitharwal finished 38th and 11th with 575 and 581 respectively. At the CWG, Mitharwal’s two bronze medals had come in 10m air pistol and 50m pistol events, while Rai had won the 10m air pistol gold.