Former Asian Games and Youth Olympic champion Saurabh Chaudhary secured India’s first medal at the ISSF World Cup stage in Lima, Peru, by clinching bronze in the men’s 10m air pistol event. Competing at the Las Palmas shooting range on the opening day of the Rifle/Pistol/Shotgun World Cup, Saurabh registered a final score of 219.1 before bowing out after the 22nd shot.
China’s Hu Kai dominated the event, narrowly missing the world record with a gold-winning score of 246.4, while Brazil’s Olympic medalist Felipe Almeida Wu secured silver.
Both Indian shooters in the fray — Saurabh and Varun Tomar — advanced to the top-eight final, with Saurabh placing fifth in qualification with 578 and Tomar eighth with 576.
In the final, the Indian pair began strongly, holding second and third positions after the initial five shots, trailing China’s Xie Yu. However, consistency proved a challenge as Hu began to build a commanding lead. Austrian Richard Zechmeister and German Olympic legend Christian Reitz were among the early eliminations.
A brilliant 10.9 from Tomar on his 14th shot elevated him to seventh, while Saurabh climbed to second after a 10.7. As the competition progressed, Xie exited in fifth place, setting up a potential showdown between Saurabh and Wu for the silver.
However, Saurabh’s momentum dipped with two consecutive 9.6s in the 21st and 22nd shots, allowing Wu to seal the silver, while Hu Kai closed in on a world record performance.
Despite the bronze, it was a promising start for India at the Lima World Cup, with more events still to come.