Sensational Manu Bhaker strikes successive second gold at ISSF World Cup

Indian shooter Manu Bhaker poses for photographs after winning gold in womenrsquos 10m air pistol event at International Shooting Sport Federation ISSF World Cup in Mexicorsquos Guadalajara on Sunday Pic PTIThe sensational Manu Bhaker all of 16 shot her way to a second successive gold medal in a mixed team event as India consolidated their position at the top in the ISSF World Cup in Guadalajara Mexico Partnering Om Prakash Mitharval the Indian teenager clinched the 10m air pistol mixed team title a day after she won the womens 10m air pistol individual gold on what is turning out to be a memorable senior World Cup debut The 11th standard student could be the youngest ever to win senior World Cup gold medals for India though the National Rifle Association of India NRAI could not confirmAlso the duo of Deepak Kumar and Mehuli Ghosh won the country its sixth medal of the competition a bronze in the 10m air rifle mixed team event Deepak and Mehuli competing as India 2 shot 4351 in the fiveteam final finishing behind the Romanian pair of Alin Moldoveanu and LauraGeorgeta Coman who shot 4984 for silver Chinas Xu Hong and Chen Keduo won Gold in a world record score of 5020 But it was Bhaker the girl from Jhajjar Haryana who stunned the shooting world world with a second successive gold in as many daysFor someone who took to shooting just a little over two years ago winning two gold medals in a global event of this magnitude would easily qualify as some achievement Shooting happened to her by chance after a brush with contact sports boxing martial arts and Bhaker has already stamped her class in the tournaments she competed in Asked about her penchant for winning medals with recordbreaking feats the unassuming pistol shooter said It just happens I dont think about them At times I dont even know what the records areI am grateful to all my coaches for their advice and the hours they have put in to hone my technique Manu added Last December she won the 10m air pistol event outclassing the highlyexperienced Heena Sidhu at the 61st National Shooting Championship in Thiruvanthapuram where she broke Heenas longstanding national record She won a staggering 15 medals including nine gold during the tournament Bhakers tryst with shooting began when her father took her to the range and asked her to try her hand at the sport She fired a few shots that found the centre of the target and the rest is historyOn the third day of competitions in the Mexican city once again both Indian entries in the 10m air pistol mixed team event made it through to the medal rounds Bhaker and Om Prakash representing India 1 shot 770 in qualification to be placed second behind the German husband and wife pair of Christian and Sandra Reitz who shot 777 for a qualifications world record score Mahima Agrawal and Shahzar Rizvi representing India 2 shot 763 to be positioned fourth and made it to the fiveteam final round from among the 16 competing teamsIn the final there were three pairs in contention from the very beginning India 1 represented by Bhaker and Om Prakash team Reitz of Germany and the French pair of Celine Goberville and Florian Fouquet After a seasaw battle between the three the Indian and the German pair pulled ahead of the French duo decisively after 38 shots with the Germans ahead of the Indians With the final six shots remaining the Germans were ahead of the Indians by 01 but Bhaker and Om Prakash finished strong to clinch the battle after 48 shots almost a point ahead of the GermansThe final scores in favour of the Indians read 4761 to 4752 Mahima Agrawal and Shahzar Rizvi finished fourth with a score of 3724 in the finals In the womens trap Indias Seema Tomar was the best finisher shooting 111 in qualifying to end in 15th spot Shreyasi Singh shot 106 to finish 22nd while Shagun Chowdhary shot 101 to be placed 26thAlso at the end of the first day of the qualification round in mens trap Indias Kynan Chenai shot 49 out of 50 to lie in sixth place Zoravar Singh Sandhu shot 46 to lie 28th while Manavjit Singh Sandhu shot 42 to be in 47th placeIndias medal count stood at three gold and four bronze medals for a total of seven podium finishesCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates hereDownload the new midday Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the goThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever