India top medal tally with 17 medals at World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Cup

Rudransh Khandelwal, a talented young para-shooter, clinched his second gold medal on Wednesday, emerging victorious in the P1 Men's 10m Air Pistol SH1 category on the final day of the World Shooting Para Sport (WSPS) World Cup.

India displayed an exceptional performance, securing a total of 17 medals, including seven gold, six silver, and four bronze. India's medal tally surpassed that of the 35 participating countries in the World Cup.

Despite finishing eighth and last in the qualification round with a score of 557 points, 16-year-old Rudransh demonstrated his invincibility during the final. He delivered an astonishing performance in the last series, scoring 49.7, which ultimately led to his triumph over Manish Narwal, the reigning 2020 Tokyo Paralympic gold medallist.

Narwal secured the silver medal with 236.4 points, while Santhosh Gade claimed the bronze medal with 211.7 points, ensuring India's dominance by securing all available medals.

Prior to this outstanding victory, Rudransh had already made waves in the tournament. On Monday, he secured the gold medal in the P4 Mixed 50m pistol SH1 category, where he not only emerged as the champion but also set a new world record.

His final score of 231.1 surpassed the previous record held by Manish Narwal, an esteemed recipient of the Khel Ratna award.

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Avani, Rubina and Swaroop also win big

Rubina Francis secured the final medal for India by claiming silver in the P2 Women's 10m Air Pistol SH1 category, exhibiting remarkable skill with a score of 232.3 in the final. The gold medal went to Hungarian shooter Krisztina David, who achieved a score of 234.7.

Avani Lekhara, the Tokyo Olympics gold medallist, had previously earned a gold medal in the R2 10m Air Rifle SH1 category. Another Indian shooter, Swaroop Unhalkar, also bagged a gold medal in the World Cup, achieving a score of 245.9 in the men's 10m air rifle standing SH1 event. Notably, he outperformed his Hungarian competitor Csaba Rescsik by a slim margin of 0.9 points.