Teenage shooting star Saurabh Chaudhary ended the year on a high note by scoring 4.6 points better than the world record in men’s 10m air pistol at the ongoing selection trials in New Delhi.
16-year-old Saurabh took the top spot in the final with a score of 248.2, a massive 4.6 points above the current world record of 243.6 set by Ukraine’s Oleh Omelchuk at the ISSF World Cup in Munich earlier this year.
Since the score has not been shot at an ISSF competition, it will not be considered as an official world record.
Anmol Jain shot 242.3 to finish 2nd in the men final, 5.9 points below Saurabh while Nikhil Chandila was placed 3rd with 218.4.
Saurabh, who had won a gold at the Asian Games and the Youth Olympics, shot a qualification score of 578 to qualify for the final on the 7th place.
Asian Games bronze medallist Abhishek Verma could not make it to the final despite scoring 578, owing to a lesser number of inner-10s. Meanwhile, Olympian Jitu Rai shot 579 to qualify for the final on the 4th position but was the first to be eliminated on the 8th position.
Saurabh also topped the junior men category with 245.5 in the final, which is equal to the junior world record that he already holds. Junior qualification topper Nikhil was placed 2nd with 242.4 while Vijayveer Sidhu took the 3rd spot with 220.7.
In the youth category, Vijayveer shot 244.3 to finish 2nd, 3.5 points behind his twin brother Udhayveer Sidhu. Nikhil Chandila lost a shoot-off with Vijayveer (9.10-10.2) and was placed 3rd with 221.0.
The Results:
Men’s 10m Air Pistol: 1. Saurabh Chaudhary 248.2 (578); 2. Anmol Jain 242.3 (580); 3. Nikhil Chandila 218.4 (579).
Junior Men’s 10m Air Pistol:┬á1. Saurabh Chaudhary 245.5 (578); 2. Nikhil Chandila 242.4 (579); 3. Vijayveer Sidhu 220.7 (576).
Youth Men’s 10m Air Pistol:┬á1. Udhayveer Sidhu 244.3 (575); 2. Vijayveer Sidhu 240.8 (576); 3. Nikhil Chandila 221.0 (579).