China’s Hu Kai dominated the Men’s 10m Air Pistol at the season-opening ISSF World Cup in Buenos Aires, securing the gold with a score of 244.7. Paris Olympian Anton Aristarkhov of AIN took silver with 243.3, while Switzerland’s Jason Solari claimed the bronze with 223.0.
India’s Varun Tomar and Ravinder Singh finished fifth and sixth, respectively, in the final. Both shooters had qualified in seventh and eighth positions with identical scores of 580, but Ravinder was ranked higher due to more inner 10s. In the final, both shooters showed promise in the initial stages, with Ravinder in early medal contention. However, he was eliminated after 16 shots, followed by Varun after 18 shots.
Christian Reitz of Germany placed fourth, while Paolo Monna of Italy and Valeriy Rakhimzhan of Kazakhstan finished in seventh and eighth place, respectively.
In qualification, 23-year-old Hu Kai recorded the top score of 587. Olympic champion Xie Yu of China also shot 587, but as he was competing in the RPO category, he was not considered for the final. Anton Aristarkhov secured his spot in the final with a strong 586, while Jason Solari followed closely with 584.
Saurabh Chaudhary, the third Indian shooter in contention, finished 16th in the qualification round with a score of 577, missing out on the final.
Two more Indians Amit Sharma (579) and Aakash Bhardwaj (577) participated in the RPO category.
The competition now moves to the highly anticipated 50m Rifle Three Positions scheduled for Friday, where India has three representatives in both the men’s and women’s categories. Two-time Olympian Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Chain Singh, and Niraj Kumar will take aim in the men’s event, while Paris Olympian Sift Kaur Samra, Shriyanak Sadangi, and Ashi Chouksey will represent India in the women’s category.