What’s the story?
Ace shooter Jitu Rai came from nowhere to take home the bronze medal in the 10m Air Pistol category at the ongoing ISSF World Cup at the Dr Karni Singh Shooting Range in New Delhi. Jitu finished with a score of 216.7 and shots of 9.9 and 8.6 as he stood on the podium for the second time in two days.
In case you didn’t know…
This was India’s third medal at the World Cup. Earlier on Monday, Jitu had bagged the gold medal in the mixed team event in a demonstration event alongside Heena Sidhu in the same category.
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India has won two other medals at the World Cup so far. Pooja Ghatkar had claimed the bronze in Women’s 10m Air Rifle while Ankur Mittal won the silver medal in Men’s Double Trap event.
The heart of the matter
In an unbelievable turn of events, Jitu miraculously finished with a medal. With poor shots, for instance, the 8.8 he shot on the second attempt, it was expected that his run would end on a disappointing note. However, lady luck was on his side as other competitors did not do any better to push him by the wayside.
The gold medal was claimed by Tomoyuki Matsuda of Japan, who finished with a score of 240.1, while the silver medal went to Xuan Vinh Hoang, who scored 236.6.
Sportskeeda’s take
It is a remarkable achievement by Jitu Rai, who has been shooting competitively since 2008. After missing out on a spot in the final of 50m pistol during the Rio Olympics last year, he was left disappointed with his own effort. However, his performances have been on the up since then.
At the World Cup Final in Bologna last year, he had claimed the silver. And now, he has added another bronze medal to his tally. Congratulations, champ!
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