Stellar show by pistol shooters ensured India finished on top at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo, Egypt, with 7 medals (4 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze).
Norway finished second with 6 medals (3 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze) while France took the third place with 3 gold medals out of the 20 on offer.
Saurabh Chowdhary and Esha Singh were the only Indian shooters who won individual medals. Saurabh won the gold in Men’s 10m Air Pistol while Esha won silver in the Women’s event on day three of the competition.
Six out of the seven medals for India were won by pistol shooters. The only medal in rifle was won by Shriyanka Sadangi and Akhil Sheoran who bagged the bronze in 50m Rifle Three Positions Mixed Team.
A 24-member shooting squad represented India without the likes of Olympians Manu Bhaker, Abhishek Verma, Apurvi Chandela, Anjum Moudgil, Elavenil Valarivan, Yashaswini Deswal and Deepak Kumar who could not find a place in the squad as they did not meet the selection criteria.
The team was selected on the basis of performance in the national shooting championship. With the national trials scheduled in January getting cancelled because of Covid-19, the selection committee accounted for the qualification scores along with the final ranking points of the national championship.
Over 500 athletes from 64 countries had entered to take part in this World Cup.