ISSF World Cup 2019: Saurabh Chaudhary, 16, Smashes World Record To Win Gold In 10m Air Pistol Event, Secures Olympic Quota

India's 16-year-old shooter Saurabh Chaudhary won a gold medal in men's 10m Air Pistol event at the ongoing ISSF World Cup 2019 at the Dr. Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi on Sunday. It is India's second gold in the World Cup as Apurvi Chandela won the nation's first gold medal on Saturday. Saurabh, who won a gold at the Youth Olympics last year, defeated Serbia's Damir Mikec to claim the gold with a world record score of 245. With the glory, he also assured himself an Olympic quota for Tokyo 2020. Qualification topper Manu Bhaker, however, finished fifth in the women's 25m pistol event after starting strongly.

Another gold for India in New Delhi! #ISSFWC pic.twitter.com/icYGfLPMKT

— ISSF (@ISSF_Shooting) February 24, 2019

"I just tried to keep doing what I usually do. I never thought about the quota or the world record, else I wouldn't be here," Saurabh said after his triumph.

Having assured himself of the gold early, Saurabh had his focus on the world record in the final shot. He also holds the world record in 10m air pistol event in the junior category.

The Asian Games gold medallist ended the event with a total score of 245. Dami Mikec of Serbia was second in the podium with a score of 239.3, while the bronze medal was bagged by Wei Pang of China, who managed 215.

Such was Saurabh's dominance in the eight-men final that he finished the event 5.7 points ahead of the silver medallist, the gold assured even before his final shot.

Saurabh, who started strongly finished tied on top with Serbian Mikec at the end of the first series.

In the second series, the champion shooter continued his good form and finished at the top. Other Indians competing in the event, Abhishek Verma and Ravinder Singh, failed to qualify for the final.

Both Abhishek are Ravinder finished with a total score of 576 in the qualification round.

The Commonwealth Games and Youth Olympics gold medallist Manu ended the event with a total score of 22 at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range.

In the first series, Manu scored 3 out of a possible 5. She found the mark just twice in the second series, slipping to the seventh position. The multiple World Cup medallist was on target in the third series jumping to the second spot.

However, Manu struggled to find the target consistently and finished fifth. She had qualified for the final with a score of 590 while Rahi Sarnobat and Chinki Yadav failed to advance.

(With PTI inputs)