Ravinder wins 50m pistol, Elavenil takes rifle bronze

A late slip notwithstanding, double Olympian Elavenil Valarivan came up with a fine performance to win bronze in the women’s 10m air rifle event on the first competition day at the World Championships in Cairo on Saturday.

- HT Correspondent

The 26-year-old was on course to take the top spot but a below par 10.0 on the 19th shot triggered the drop. Having slipped to third from the pole position, she had a poor 9.9 on the 22nd shot to bow out in third place with a score of 232.0. This is Elavenil’s first individual Worlds medal to add to multiple Asian titles.

South Korea's 2024 Paris Olympics champion Ban Hyo-jin won gold with a score of 255, while China's junior world champion Wang Zifei, who trailed Elavenil till the 19th shot, took silver with a score of 254 in the highly-competitive Olympic event. Elavenil was tied for the top spot with Hyo-jin at 148.5 after the 14th shot. She then shot a superb 10.7 and 10.9 on the l6th and 17th shots to emerge leader, but pressure got to her in the end.