ISSF World Championships 2023: Akhil Sheoran secures Paris Olympic quota, India win two gold in team events

Published at :August 20, 2023 at 10:28 PM

Modified at :January 13, 2024 at 6:02 PM

(Courtesy : NRAI)

The Indian women’s team won 25m Air Pistol gold.

The Indian contingent won gold medals in the 25m Air Pistol women’s team event and the 50m 3 Positions Air Rifle men’s team event respectively at the ongoing ISSF World Championships 2023 in Baku, Azerbaijan, on Sunday. Akhil Sheoran also claimed a bronze in the 50m 3P event and in the process secured another Olympic berth for India, adding to the one won by Swapnil Kusale in the previous edition of the World Championships.

Rhythm Sangwan bounces back only to falter

Rhythm Sangwan started the day in horrendous fashion after she managed only 284 points in the Precision round of the 25m Air Pistol event. However, the teenager made a wonderful recovery by scoring 299 out of the possible 300 in the Rapid round, displaying astonishing accuracy to qualify for the finals of the event, much to the surprise of everyone.

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 🥇🇮🇳A 3rd Gold 🥇 medal for India 🇮🇳 in Shooting World Championships!! 🤩The trio of Esha Singh, Rhythm Sangwan and Manu Bhaker clinch the Gold Medal in 25m Pistol Team Event with a total score of 1744 points.#Shooting #ISSFWorldChampionships pic.twitter.com/TR2Ra6P9IT
— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 20, 2023

Sangwan finished the qualification round with 583 points in the eighth position. However, she was the first to be eliminated from the finals and thus couldn’t earn India any Olympic berth.

Esha Singh finished 16th in the qualification round, whereas Manu Bhaker finished 22nd with 581 and 580 points, respectively. The women’s team, however, combined to win gold medal in the team event after securing 1744 points with 59 inner circles.

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Akhil Sheoran wins Olympic berth

The Indian contingent came into the tournament with a berth already secured in the 50m 3 Position Air Rifle event through Swapnil Kusale’s heroics in the previous edition of the World Championships. And the experienced Akhil Sheoran ensured India wouldn’t have to wait much longer for their final quota in the event as he finished third to win himself a bronze medal and the country another Olympic quota place.

𝗠𝗲𝗱𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁 🥉🇮🇳Akhil Sheoran 🇮🇳 wins a Bronze Medal 🥉 in Men's 50m Rifle 3 Positions at the #ISSFWorldChampionships and also secures a Paris Olympic quota for India!! 🔫Congratulations! 👏📸 NRAI#Shooting #ISSFWorldChampionshipBaku2023 pic.twitter.com/Px77RPPdZ4
— Khel Now (@KhelNow) August 20, 2023

Akhil Sheoran finished the qualification round as the sixth-best shooter with 585 points. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, India’s best bet in the event failed to qualify for the finals as he finished 13th with 583 points. Niraj Kumar finished 40th in the qualification round with 577 points.

The trio combined to clinch the gold medal with a total of 1750 points ahead of Austria and Norway, who finished second and third respectively.

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